12-05-2025
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.
