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CBC
8 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
'We cannot slow down': wildfire efforts continue as cool temperatures and rain persist in northern Sask.
Cool temperatures and light rainfall has slowed down many of the wildfires burning in northern Saskatchewan and officials with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said some residents may be able to return home in the coming days. However, firefighters continue to battle the flames and 24 wildfires are burning in the province. "We cannot slow down, and we're not going to slow down," said Marlo Pritchard, the agency's president and fire commissioner. As of Sunday afternoon, 33 communities have been evacuated. Weyakwin is the only community that has had their evacuation order lifted and that happened on Thursday. Meanwhile, overnight Saturday up to 24 millimetres of rain fell in parts of Saskatchewan, and with lower temperatures expected to continue, fire crews are looking to "take advantage of this small window of opportunity" while the fire intensity is lower, Pritchard said. The province has already hired some Type 3 firefighters, who are generally temporary workers with basic firefighting training, to assist in wildfire efforts. "I really want to call on community leaders, those community leaders that have Type 3 firefighters, to start getting names of those that have qualified," said Pritchard. Bryan Chartrand, SPSA executive director of land operations, said the growth of uncontained wildfires is beginning to ease. He noted the Shoe fire – which covers areas around East Trout Lake, Pipprell Lake and Lower Fishing Lake — received about 22 millimetres of rain and has not grown any further. It is just under 500,000 hectares in size. This comes days after nearby Candle Lake put a voluntary evacuation order into effect as fast-moving fires approached the community. The rainfall and continued firefighting efforts have dampened the fire, which is still about 10 kilometres west of the community. For now, Candle Lake authorities have said their community is out of danger. La Ronge, which is also nearby, had 24 millimetres of rain on Saturday, Chartrand said. Crews are observing hot spots and residents may be able to return in the coming days. "We continue to work and set up fire guards," Chartrand said, adding they want to make sure areas are protected in case there's more hot, dry weather and the fires pick up again. The province is hopeful the wildfire surrounding Pelican Narrows will soon be contained and that the community will be open for residents to return home. Chartrand said there haven't been any threatened areas for a number of days now. While many areas are beginning to see improvement, the Wolf fire affecting communities like Denare Beach and Creighton, is still a source of concern for the province. Temperatures have been lower in the area, but there has not been enough rainfall to decrease the intensity of the fire, he said. Crews remain in the community tending to hot spots and are actively working to repair the fibre optics affecting cellular service. The province has also said verification teams are expected to be deployed over the next couple of days to start "that challenging task and very sad task" of identifying what properties were lost due to the wildfires. Currently, the SPSA has confirmed 290 of the 400 so-called values, which refers to residents' lodges, equipment, boats, and trailers, have been reported as lost. There have been 254 wildfires in Saskatchewan so far this year, well above the five-year average of 143 for this date. The SPSA announced there have been no new human starts to fires. At the same time, the provincewide fire ban will remain in effect and be reassessed as weather conditions change. Financial assistance is being increased for wildfire evacuees in Saskatchewan, the province announced Saturday. In a SPSA news release earlier Saturday, the province said it is raising the daily amount provided to the head of each household to $40 per day, from $20. Additional members of a household will now get $20 per day, up from $10, the agency said, to a new daily maximum for evacuees of $200 per day.
Global News
2 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
Cooler weather, light rain helping some provinces in fight against wildfires
The Saskatchewan government is boosting support it's giving to wildfire evacuees, while officials say light rain and cooler temperatures this weekend could help keep some of the province's larger fires in check. Bryan Chartrand with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency told a news conference in Prince Albert, Sask., on Saturday that it's been mostly 'status quo' with the large fires in the past 24 hours. In addition to more favourable weather, Chartrand says there haven't been any new lightning-caused fires, and he says fires have also reached natural barriers such as lakes which have stopped their growth. The province announced Saturday a hike in financial assistance for those registered with the SPSA, raising the amount provided to the head of household to $40 per day, up from $20, and additional household members will get $20 per day, up from $10. Story continues below advertisement Marlo Pritchard with the SPSA told the news conference that the government raised the amounts because it's been a number of years since the supports have been increased. The province says in its latest statement there are 24 active wildfires in Saskatchewan and 33 communities have evacuated. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'While we are hoping to soon have some individuals and families repatriated back to their communities, we know that some will have to continue to be evacuated as we deal with ensuring safe cleanup of these devastating wildfires,' Saskatchewan Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said in a statement. 'Frontline crews and multiple agencies are working as quickly as possible to do so.' Pritchard said the new support for evacuees, which he said remains between 10,000 and 15,000 people, is in addition to the $15 million the government is already supplying to the Canadian Red Cross for evacuee assistance. He told Saturday's news conference that people should not bring donations to hotels where evacuees are staying, noting the government will announce details, possibly early next week, on how people in Saskatchewan can help people displaced by fires. 0:28 Province of Manitoba providing financial support for wildfire evacuees Environment Canada said Saturday a low pressure system passing through the Prairies, currently in northern Saskatchewan and expected to move into Manitoba and northwestern Ontario by Monday, is expected to bring precipitation for areas hit by out-of-control forest fires. Story continues below advertisement The Manitoba government said despite rain in the forecast and temperatures cooling to seasonal levels, Manitoba continues to be under very high to extreme wildfire danger. Northern Alberta was not expected to see much relief from the low-pressure system, according to Environment Canada, as there was little rain in the forecast.
CBC
17-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
'It's a tinderbox out there': Wildfires prompt evacuations, state of emergency in Sask. RM
133 wildfires in province so far as of Thursday, more than double the 5-year average A wildfire that broke out earlier this week in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Garden River, northeast of Prince Albert, Sask., prompted evacuations and led local officials to declare a state of emergency. As of Thursday, 133 wildfires had been recorded in the province so far this year — more than double the five-year average of 60 for this time — according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). "Essentially all these current fires — they're all human-caused," said Bryan Chartrand, the SPSA's executive director of land operations. "If we took that factor out, the risk of fire would be very, very low." Provincial fire ban issued for large part of northern Sask. In Garden River, Reeve Ryan Scragg said a fire that started Monday near White Star Road and Highway 55 grew quickly and required support from multiple fire departments and the province. "We had a large fire start on Monday, which necessitated a really huge response — including neighbouring RMs with their fire departments, the province and the Public Safety Agency," Scragg said. The fire spread into the Nisbet Forest and forced the evacuation of about six homes. It has since been contained but continues to be monitored due to dry conditions, Scragg said. "It's a tinderbox out there," he said. The RM of Garden River declared a local state of emergency on Monday. "The SPSA was recommending evacuations," Scragg said. "As a council, we decided to enact the state of emergency, just essentially giving us extra power and access to resources to be able to fight these fires." Scragg said one of the fires was caused by equipment failure, while another appears to have started when a power line struck a tree during high winds. "Definitely human-involved, but nothing nefarious," he said. The evacuations were carried out with assistance from the RCMP and SPSA. Scragg said no injuries or property damage have been reported. "Any time you get an emergency situation like this, things can escalate very quickly," he said. "But I would call it a successful evacuation." Fire crews are currently working to contain another fire in the RM, estimated at several hundred acres in size. Scragg said fire guards have been built, and no homes or critical infrastructure are currently at risk. "It's strictly in farmland," he said. With dry conditions persisting across the province, a fire ban has been issued for much of northern Saskatchewan. Garden River enacted its own fire ban more than a week ago. "The conditions with the lack of rainfall are just ripe for a wildfire developing," Scragg said. "Not lighting fires is the main one, and just being more fire-cautious." WATCH | Fire ban issued in northern Sask. as wildfire season ramps up: Media Video | Fire ban issued in northern Sask. as wildfire season ramps up Caption: The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has issued a fire ban for a large part of the province's north. The ban prohibits open fires, controlled burns and fireworks in the designated areas. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Scragg, who is also a farmer, said local producers are taking steps to prepare for possible fires. "We have a water truck at the ready with a fire pump on it. I know a lot of local farms have the same kind of setup," he said. "The quicker you can respond to a small fire, it limits the chance of it becoming a big fire." Saskatchewan's wildfire season typically ramps up after the May long weekend, but conditions have already become dangerous due to dry weather and wind. "Everybody is stretched so thin right now," Scragg said. "There are large fires burning in adjoining RMs to ours in the north — in the forest area." Scragg is urging members of the public to avoid emergency scenes and stay out of active fire zones. "A lot of people are interested and want to see what's going on, attracted to the flashing lights," Scragg said. "But it makes it difficult for crews and first responders to do their jobs."
CBC
10-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
'It's a tinderbox out there': Wildfires prompt evacuations, state of emergency in Sask. RM
A wildfire that broke out earlier this week in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Garden River, northeast of Prince Albert, Sask., prompted evacuations and led local officials to declare a state of emergency. As of Thursday, 133 wildfires had been recorded in the province so far this year — more than double the five-year average of 60 for this time — according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). "Essentially all these current fires — they're all human-caused," said Bryan Chartrand, the SPSA's executive director of land operations. "If we took that factor out, the risk of fire would be very, very low." Provincial fire ban issued for large part of northern Sask. In Garden River, Reeve Ryan Scragg said a fire that started Monday near White Star Road and Highway 55 grew quickly and required support from multiple fire departments and the province. "We had a large fire start on Monday, which necessitated a really huge response — including neighbouring RMs with their fire departments, the province and the Public Safety Agency," Scragg said. The fire spread into the Nisbet Forest and forced the evacuation of about six homes. It has since been contained but continues to be monitored due to dry conditions, Scragg said. "It's a tinderbox out there," he said. The RM of Garden River declared a local state of emergency on Monday. "The SPSA was recommending evacuations," Scragg said. "As a council, we decided to enact the state of emergency, just essentially giving us extra power and access to resources to be able to fight these fires." Scragg said one of the fires was caused by equipment failure, while another appears to have started when a power line struck a tree during high winds. "Definitely human-involved, but nothing nefarious," he said. The evacuations were carried out with assistance from the RCMP and SPSA. Scragg said no injuries or property damage have been reported. "Any time you get an emergency situation like this, things can escalate very quickly," he said. "But I would call it a successful evacuation." Fire crews are currently working to contain another fire in the RM, estimated at several hundred acres in size. Scragg said fire guards have been built, and no homes or critical infrastructure are currently at risk. "It's strictly in farmland," he said. With dry conditions persisting across the province, a fire ban has been issued for much of northern Saskatchewan. Garden River enacted its own fire ban more than a week ago. "The conditions with the lack of rainfall are just ripe for a wildfire developing," Scragg said. "Not lighting fires is the main one, and just being more fire-cautious." WATCH | Fire ban issued in northern Sask. as wildfire season ramps up: Fire ban issued in northern Sask. as wildfire season ramps up 15 hours ago Duration 1:26 Scragg, who is also a farmer, said local producers are taking steps to prepare for possible fires. "We have a water truck at the ready with a fire pump on it. I know a lot of local farms have the same kind of setup," he said. "The quicker you can respond to a small fire, it limits the chance of it becoming a big fire." Saskatchewan's wildfire season typically ramps up after the May long weekend, but conditions have already become dangerous due to dry weather and wind. "Everybody is stretched so thin right now," Scragg said. "There are large fires burning in adjoining RMs to ours in the north — in the forest area." Scragg is urging members of the public to avoid emergency scenes and stay out of active fire zones. "A lot of people are interested and want to see what's going on, attracted to the flashing lights," Scragg said. "But it makes it difficult for crews and first responders to do their jobs."
Global News
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Global News
Officials say crews are dealing with more Saskatchewan wildfires this year
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says there are more wildfires burning in the province this time of year compared with the five-year average. Land Operations Executive Director Bryan Chartrand says there are 24 active fires and nine of them are not contained. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He says all of the wildfires have been started by humans and he called the situation concerning. Chartrand says crews are focusing suppression efforts northeast of Prince Albert and in the northwest, where the Onion Lake Cree Nation has declared a state of local emergency. The agency has issued a fire ban for parts of northern Saskatchewan due to hot and dry conditions. The ban prohibits open fires, controlled burns and fireworks, but does not prevent people from using all-terrain vehicles. Story continues below advertisement This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
