Latest news with #MarloPritchard
Global News
4 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
More than 8,000 people so far forced to flee Saskatchewan wildfires
There were 15 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan, with seven of them still burning out of control, as of 11 a.m. on Friday, according to the latest update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. More than 8,000 people from 16 communities have been evacuated. Provincial Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard said changing weather conditions have been hampering firefighting efforts. 'We are experiencing high daytime temperatures, warm evening temperatures and combined with the winds these fires are continuing to move significant distances.' A number of structures have also been lost, said Pritchard, including to the Shoe fire, located north of Prince Albert, but heavy smoke and dangerous fire and road conditions have made it difficult for officials to get an exact estimate of how many. View image in full screen Residents of the northern Saskatchewan community of Pelican Narrows are amongst the residents of 16 communities have been forced to flee the growing number of wildfires. Courtesy: Gilbert Linklater Another of the hardest-hit areas is in Pelican Narrows, located about five hours north of Saskatoon, near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba boundary, where more than 2,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes. Story continues below advertisement The fire threatening the community continues to burn out of control and crews are preparing to put up barriers, should flames get to the outskirts of the community. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Heavy smoke has also restricted firefighters' use of aircraft to help fight the fire, said Pritchard, although the winds are expected to shift this weekend. 'A lot of the smoke that has been sitting for the last day or so will be moving south and in (the) next 24 to 48 hours, the communities in the south of the province will experience extreme smoke conditions and air quality alerts,' added Pritchard. 1:57 Smoke filled skies in Saskatchewan Firefighting aircraft from Quebec and Alaska and fire crews from Nova Scotia have also arrived in the province to help fight the fires and more firefighters from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia are expected to arrive soon. Story continues below advertisement In addition to a fire ban, on Thursday, the province also put a ban in place on the use of all terrain vehicles and utility vehicles on all vacant Crown land, provincial parks and provincial forests. The province has also launched a dedicated toll-free phone line — 1-855-559-5502 — for anyone who has general questions about the fire and will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The latest information on the fire situation in Alberta is available online at Pritchard said that so far this year there have been 207 wildfires in Saskatchewan, well above the five-year average of 127 fires. — with files from The Canadian Press. 1:56 Shoe fire fallout
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Map: US states could face unhealthy air quality due to Canada wildfires
Several dozen wildfires burning in Canada have led local authorities to declare states of emergencies and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Now, they are expected to send smoke drifting into the United States on Friday. As of Friday, there are 174 active wildfires in Canada, with 94 of these considered to be "out of control," meaning fires that are being observed and assessed, but not immediately suppressed, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Some of the smoke from these fires will run along winds that are turning south in the coming days -- carrying it into the United States. Northern Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and most of Wisconsin are under air quality alerts, with the smoke considered dangerous for sensitive groups. Most people can still remain active outdoors, but should take breaks indoors and monitor if symptoms like shortness of breath or coughing arise. Heavy smoke will reach Green Bay, Wisconsin, at approximately noon local time on Friday, creating hazy skies. Going into Friday afternoon and evening, noticeable smoke is expected over Michigan and Chicago. Sunset in Milwaukee and Chicago on Friday may have an orange hue, as well, with heavy wildfire smoke projected to reach the area by nightfall and potentially spreading as far as Detroit. The smoke will continue to disperse as it moves into Appalachia and the Southeast on Saturday, with another batch of smoke expected to travel into the Dakotas and Great Plains. As of Friday, the areas in Canada with the most fires include British Columbia with 61 and Alberta with 51. The country is also now at the highest National Preparedness Level, meaning they have requested international help to put out the flames and equipment and personnel from every jurisdiction in Canada is being put to use. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe declared a state of emergency for the Canadian province on Thursday amid a spate of wildfire outbreaks. There were 17 active wildfires in Saskatchewan as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency President and Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard said during an afternoon press conference. Of those, three were contained, eight were not contained and five were under assessment, he added, while one was listed as "protecting values" -- referring to a process of setting up tactics, such as water sprinklers, to guide the fire away from areas that could increase risk or damage. MORE: Greer Fire expands to 20,000 acres, over 700 personnel battling flames "Travel may be impacted due to forest fires in northern Saskatchewan," the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline said in a post on the Government of Saskatchewan's Facebook page on Thursday afternoon. "We've had to evacuate and support the evacuation of about 15 communities," Moe said during the same press conference on Thursday. He explained there has been a "significant lack of moisture" in the northern parts of the province causing "over 200 wildfires" in Saskatchewan this spring. Amid his emergency declaration, wildfires continued to spread in the northern part of the province and into other parts of Canada. The neighboring province of Manitoba had first declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as wildfires forced some 17,000 people to flee, according to The Associated Press. MORE: Why glaciologists believe the Birch Glacier collapsed, burying a nearby Swiss town Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered "Canada's full support" to the province in a post on X on Wednesday. "The premier and I are in close contact, and the federal government stands ready to assist Manitoba's provincial wildfire teams," Carney wrote in the post. The region saw 15 active fires as of Thursday night, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. ABC News' Ellie Kaufman, Kenton Gewecke and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report. Map: US states could face unhealthy air quality due to Canada wildfires originally appeared on
5 days ago
- Climate
Heavy smoke from Canada wildfires to drift into US
Several dozen wildfires burning in Canada have led local authorities to declare states of emergencies, forced thousands of people to evacuate -- and are expected to send smoke drifting down into the United States. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe declared a state of emergency for the Canadian province on Thursday amid a spate of wildfire outbreaks there. There were 17 active wildfires in Saskatchewan as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency President and Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard said during an afternoon press conference. Of those, three were contained, eight were not contained, and five were under assessment, he added, while one was listed as "protecting values" -- referring to a process of setting up tactics, such as water sprinklers, to guide the fire away from areas that could increase risk or damage. "Travel may be impacted due to forest fires in northern Saskatchewan," the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline said in a post on the Government of Saskatchewan's Facebook page on Thursday afternoon. "We've had to evacuate and support the evacuation of about 15 communities," Moe said during the same press conference on Thursday. He explained there has been a "significant lack of moisture" in the northern parts of the province causing "over 200 wildfires" in Saskatchewan this spring. Amid his emergency declaration, wildfires continued to spread in the northern part of the province and into other parts of Canada. The neighboring province of Manitoba had first declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as wildfires forced some 17,000 people to flee, according to the AP. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney offered "Canada's full support" to the province in a post on X on Wednesday. "The premier and I are in close contact, and the federal government stands ready to assist Manitoba's provincial wildfire teams," Carney wrote in the post. The region saw 15 active fires as of Thursday night, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, or CIFFC. There are more than 170 active wildfires in Canada as of Thursday night, and 93 of them are considered "out of control." "Out of control" refers to monitored fires that are being observed and assessed but not immediately suppressed, according to CIFFC. Some of the smoke from these fires will run along winds that are turning south in the coming days -- carrying it into the United States. By midday on Friday, very heavy smoke may be in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sunset in Milwaukee and Chicago on Friday may have an orange hue, as well, with heavy wildfire smoke projected to reach the area by nightfall and potentially spreading as far as Detroit.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency predicting average 2025 wildfire season
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is anticipating an average wildfire season for 2025, after a near-record number of burns seen across the province last year. 'The overall picture for Saskatchewan indicates better conditions than we saw in 2024,' SPSA president Marlo Pritchard told media on Wednesday. In 2024, Saskatchewan recorded the second-largest number of wildfire incidents and the second-largest recorded burn area in a decade, confirmed vice-president of operations Steve Roberts. SPSA is reporting three active wildfires as of Wednesday, two north of Prince Albert and one at Waterhen Lake. There have been 23 fires recorded to-date for 2025, down from 34 in the same time frame last year. A 2023 SPSA annual report notes the 10-year average number of fires was 419 with 591,950 hectares burned. Roberts said the predictions are based on precipitation and weather conditions so far. Fire crews have returned from other deployments or are in the process of being recalled and one air tanker crew is already in place. The SPSA is also set to receive the first of four new air tankers for its fleet renewal this May, to be operational later this summer. SPSA modelling says the colder, wetter weather this April is expected to give way to more regular conditions in mid-May, bringing with it a start to thunderstorm season. Dry conditions are expected in central regions of the province as is overall hotter than usual temperatures this summer. 'About half of the wildfires in Saskatchewan in any given year are started by humans, with lightning being the cause of the remainder,' said Pritchard. 'As a result, I urge everyone to take extreme precautions during the spring and early summer months.' Shawn Jaques, president of the Water Security Agency, also said spring runoff levels appear normal and 'significant' flooding is not expected this summer, with the exception of localized events. Flows to Lake Diefenbaker were controlled this spring to maintain a higher water level than usual, by approximately 80 centimetres. 'Even with the drier conditions in the fall, there's no anticipated concerns with water supply for any communities at this time,' he said. lkurz@ SPSA launches new app to support wildfire evacuees New public safety 'Mobile Command Post' vehicle unveiled by Sask. agencies The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
