Latest news with #NarrowHillsProvincialPark
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Southern Sask. remains ‘fortunate' this wildfire season, SPSA says
With many wildfires burning in northern Saskatchewan, the story is vastly different in southern Saskatchewan. The southern part of the province remains clear of wildfire risks so far, according to officials with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). 'Southern Saskatchewan has been very fortunate this year. They got lots of snow, and then they followed that up with some wet snow and then followed that up with some rain events,' said Steve Roberts, the Vice President of Operations with the SPSA. Roberts said the southern portion of the province has the lowest hazard. 'The biggest hazard is in the north and more specifically the northeast quarter of the province,' he said. The largest wildfire in the province right now is the Shoe fire, near the Lower Fishing Lakes in the Narrow Hills Provincial Park. 'That fire is now containing all of the Shoe fire and the Camp fire. They have continued to grow until they have merged into one single fire,' Roberts explained. The current size of that fire, according to the SPSA, is 216,000 hectares and is not contained. This fire has already impacted two cabins, 23 campers, and four pieces of infrastructure. 'A kitchen, a bunk house, equipment shack and a truck in our own compound that has been impacted by this fire. During the course of the fire, we actually were required to evacuate the entire response team that was managing these fires to move them out of the way of this fire activity,' added Roberts. As of May 27, there have been 205 wildfires in the province, with 21 of those still currently active. Last year at this time, the province saw 165 wildfires.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Parts of beautiful northern Sask. park burned by wildfire
A provincial park known for its beautiful hiking trails around picturesque lakes is closed due to wildfires in the area, and the status of the trails is unknown. Narrow Hills Provincial Park, about 130 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, was closed on Friday afternoon as a "public safety measure," according to a notice posted on the Saskatchewan Parks website. All highways in and around the park are also closed. "Sask. Parks is closely monitoring the situation and hope that conditions will change so that we can reopen the park next week," the parks ministry notice said. One of the park's attractions is the Gem Lakes Trail, which goes over the hills above the Gem Lakes — deep lakes that reflect shades of emerald, jade and aqua blue. The main fire affecting the area, named the "Shoe" fire, was listed at a size of 13,500 hectares as of Sunday morning. Fire crews, heavy equipment, helicopters and air tankers were all involved in fighting the fire. It was one of 16 active fires in the province as of 11 a.m. CST Monday, and was still listed as uncontained. So far this year there have been 146 wildfires in Saskatchewan, well above the five-year average of 81 for this date. Another wildfire of note, as of Sunday's update, was burning at Keeley Lake, north of Green Lake. Keeley Lake is about 100 kilometres north of Meadow Lake, which is about 300 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. Quebec's forest fire prevention agency sent reinforcements to Saskatchewan, including two CL-415 firefighting aircraft headed to Meadow Lake. Smoke from wildfires was also affecting the air quality in some east-central parts of the province Monday, including Nipawin, Carrot River and Candle Lake Provincial Park.
