In rare move, Prince Albert National Park imposes strict limits over wildfire threat

CTV News

2 days ago

WATCH: As wildfires rage in Saskatchewan's north, precautionary closures are being put in place in Waskesiu to protect the town and wilderness areas.
As wildfires create concern in Saskatchewan's north, those inside the Prince Albert National Park (PANP) are preparing for all scenarios.
Precautionary closures not seen in recent memory are being put into place at the park, located just north of Prince Albert, to protect the town and wilderness areas.
Like many people in Saskatchewan, Lindsey Gerwing's heart goes out to all those affected by the wildfires.
She's a business owner in one of Saskatchewan's most popular resort towns, Waskesiu, and the potential impact of fires on her livelihood weighs on her mind.
'Hopefully everyone else can come up and enjoy the park like they always do. There are just a few limits, but I think if we get a little rain, everyone in Saskatchewan will be happy,' Gerwing told CTV News.
Prince Albert National Park
Waskesiu business owner Lindsey Gerwing. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
Park officials took drastic steps last week to close back country trails and some lakes in the park as a pre-emptive measure to avoid the risk of new human-caused fires.
'To my knowledge, in the last 20 years, it has not happened in a preparedness state. It also is the highest fire indices that we've seen in this park in about 20 years,' said Jennifer Duquette, PANP superintendent.
The only time this many areas were closed would be when there were active fires burning in the park.
Helicopter surveillance is monitoring the park daily, and the village is surrounded by a fuel break — a cleared-out perimeter eliminating flammable ground cover.
A few of the trails closer to the townsite and main beach are still open but checking the park website for updates is key if you are planning to visit, according to Duquette.
'Be prepared to leave if you're coming, [but] come for a visit. We are not in an evacuation situation at this moment,' she said.
Prince Albert National Park
Park Superintendent Jennifer Duquette. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
With the early wildfire season, the roughly 25 businesses in Waskesiu are there keeping an eye on preliminary visitor numbers very closely. Those visits affect their bottom line in a business model that relies on customers coming in a small window of a few months each year.
'It's on everybody's mind, and we certainly have seen a drastic decrease in the amount of visitors over the last few weeks. That being said, though, it's early in the season,' Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce President Chris Astle said.
At the Waskesiu Golf Course, hundreds of golfers are converging for the Lobstick tournament season, which is underway, with the seniors playing this week and the men's event starting next week.
'We're probably getting a phone call every hour or two hours, asking what's going on up here and if we are open, that sort of thing,' said Paul Schatz, PGA Canada professional at the Waskesiu Golf Course.
Schatz says Mother Nature tends to give golfers here a lot of weather issues in June – but it usually means rain, so they're hoping for the best right now.
Prince Albert National Park
PGA Canada professional Chris Schatz, Waskesiu Golf Course. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
'It's business as usual here. If fires do come and it impacts us, then we'll figure out what we need to do to get stuff done,' he says.
A few kilometres away in the resort village of Elk Ridge, the mayor says they are open and are also watching the fires, some of which are less than 2 hours east of them.
'We're feeling quite fortunate right now, with the winds predominantly from the west. So, it's taking the risk away from us, and that's very comforting. But the weather is, always, unpredictable. And in that case, we are extremely well prepared,' Margaret Smith-Windsor, the mayor of the village of Elk Ridge told CTV News.
The village expands to nearly 1,000 people in the summer, and if the fires become an issue, evacuation protocols have been shared by their emergency measures coordinator.