Rainfall dampens wildfire expansion in northern Saskatchewan, some evacuees returning home

CTV News

5 hours ago

An orange-coloured haze, resulting from a nearby wildfire, is seen outside the Forest Fire Management Centre in La Ronge, Sask., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Officials with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) say widespread rainfall has allowed a short reprieve for those fighting fires across the province's north.
In its daily briefing on Sunday, the SPSA reported minimal growth across its wildfires of note.
'This rain was very much appreciated and needed. But we cannot slow down, and we're not going to slow down,' SPSA President Marlo Pritchard explained.
'This is the time where we can take advantage of this small window of opportunity. Gives us and our firefighter partners a small window of taking the fight directly to these fires while their intensity is lower.'
As of Sunday afternoon, 24 wildfires in Saskatchewan were considered active. Of that total, three are considered contained, 12 are ongoing assessment, protecting values are the priority of three fires and six are considered not contained.
The largest wildfire in the province, the Shoe Fire, remains just shy of 500,000 hectares – having received 22 millimetres of rain over the weekend.
Crews continue to work ahead of the southern flank of the fire. However, the priority, according to land operations Executive Director Brian Chartrand, continues to be working northward on the fire's west flank – so it no longer threatens the communities of Candle Lake and White Swan.
Echoing a call made by Premier Scott Moe when the province's state of emergency was declared – Pritchard reiterated that the province is in need of Type 3 firefighters and called on community leaders to take stock of qualified personnel.
'Start getting names of those that have [qualifications], those have been trained, so that when we reach out over the next number of days, that we can quickly access those trained firefighters to supplement our type ones and type twos,' he explained.
'Right now, we're working on setting up camps and those support logistics supports that we need to take on type threes.'
According to the SPSA, around 290 structures have been confirmed destroyed – with the provincial total estimates hovering around 400.
The communities of Denare Beach and East Trout Lake remain the hardest hit. Teams travelling to those areas to confirm damages are scheduled to head out Monday.
Regardless of the temporary reprieve, Pritchard warned that much more rain is needed to turn the tide in Saskatchewan's already devastating fire season.
'I can say that although we had a 24-hour period of rain, that will not be a substantive impact long term,' he said.
'We need more rain to reduce future risks.'
Some evacuees returning home
Between 10,000 and 15,000 residents have been forced to evacuate in northern Saskatchewan since the beginning of the fire season.
On Sunday, Pritchard confirmed that some residents of the Weyakwin area have been repatriated - noting that the agency is constantly assessing risk for the communities affected.
'The evacuation is always community led. We continually assess the risk,' he explained. 'We're also looking at other risks, making sure that the critical infrastructure, whether that be water, sewer power, are on. Whether there is any safety concerns around fallen trees or access, [or] smoke.'
In a post to social media, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation announced that due to improved weather, some evacuees would be allowed to return to Pelican Narrows beginning 7 p.m. Sunday.