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Calgary Herald
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Calgary Herald
'Anguish is eating me up': Roaring fires, helping hands in northeast Saskatchewan
'I worry about my neighbours,' she said. 'My dad is 85 and in the care home. I worry about everyone in there.' Strickland's job keeps her in touch with many in the area. Residents of Little Bear Lake, Pickerel Lake and Lower Fishing Lake get their mail in Smeaton. 'I'm afraid people will lose their homes,' she said. 'But we are supporting each other, coming together. At the lakes, people are really pulling together. Business owners and farmers in the area are taking their own equipment out to help.' Strickland and others in Smeaton and Choiceland said the fires started suddenly in early May and were driven by 70 km/hr winds. Little could be done to prevent them. It took time to mobilize firefighting efforts, but it now appears that more resources are being amassed to attack the SHOE fire. Cheri Kosowan, owner of Torch River Tavern in Choiceland with her husband, Doug, said the town's highly dedicated fire crew is among those fighting the blaze. She added that SPSA is in the process of setting up a camp for fire personnel at the sports grounds on the town's southeast corner. A drive by the location shows it to be in the early stages of set-up. A number of people in Choiceland and Smeaton, some with grey hair, said they have never seen the fire season as destructive as it here in 2025. 'The fires are huge,' said a Choiceland resident who did not want to be named. 'It's getting hotter and hotter. It's like Earth is regenerating itself.' The economic impact to the region is disastrous, Roberta Strickland indicated. 'The tourist industry is basically a write-off.' In this region of Saskatchewan, where agricultural lands meet the boreal forest, the bush — its lakes, streams, campsites, trails, fish and game — is woven into the life of communities. The forest and all it provides in recreation, employment, food and fun, is fundamental to the culture and lifestyle of thousands living here. People in First Nations, on farms, in villages and towns, have a deep attachment to the forest lands that are now going up in smoke. The destruction of the heart and soul of the region by fire is devastating. It shows on the faces of those who depend on it for their well-being.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Candle Lake firebreak approved, voluntary wildfire evacuation advised
Representatives of Candle Lake say the province has approved a protective firebreak to fend off a rapidly approaching wildfire after local officials made public statements Tuesday asking for help. An online notice from the resort village's administrators on Wednesday said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has granted permission for the firebreak in an effort to head off a wildfire from nearby Narrow Hills Provincial Park. Candle Lake is about 80 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, located between the northern city and Narrow Hills. The blaze (known as 25VF-SHOE) has been burning since May 6 and was previously identified as two separate wildfires (SHOE and 25VF-CAMP). They have now merged and cover 216,000 hectares as of Wednesday — the largest active wildfire in the province. Its southern edge reaches just 20 kilometres from Candle Lake, prompting the community's request to pre-emptively build a protective barrier before the fire travels any closer. Work is set to begin on the firebreak immediately, according to Candle Lake's notice on social media. It will span from Minowukaw Beach, along Highway 120 toward the Highway 265 junction, to the east and south of Candle Lake. A voluntary evacuation notice was issued as part of the update, encouraging people to consider leaving the area if possible. 'The goal of the Voluntary Evacuation is to reduce the number of people who will need to leave the Resort Village within a short period of time if a mandatory evacuation is required,' read the notice. The post also asks that people cancel plans to visit Candle Lake at this time and to avoid staying in the area if they return to check on properties. Candle Lake has been on a pre-evacuation notice since Sunday after it was previously included on an alert from May 15 to May 21. Approximately 1,160 people live in the resort village, according to census data. The rural municipality of Torch River also continues to ask residents of nearby Choiceland, White Fox and Smeaton to remain on pre-evacuation alert due to the SHOE fire's proximity. More than 5,800 people are currently on evacuation orders due to significant wildfires threatening their homes in northern Saskatchewan, according to an update from SPSA on Tuesday. Vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said the province is seeing an intense early start to wildfire season, causing emergency orders in big numbers this past week. As of Wednesday, 17 fires were actively burning and almost the entire province was under extreme fire risk conditions. 'At this time in Saskatchewan, it is taking almost no effort to start a fire and they are extremely aggressive, growing extremely fast,' Roberts said in a news conference Tuesday. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) expanded its mandatory evacuation notice Tuesday for the northern community of Pelican Narrows after an initial warning for the area was issued Sunday. Chief Peter Beatty told CBC Saskatchewan around 4,000 residents had been notified to leave. Another 400 people have also evacuated from Hall Lake and Brabant Lake, near Lac La Ronge, and 12 from the Whelan Bay area. Roberts said Whelan Bay is considering a full evacuation of residents as wildfire risks continue to grow. Residents of East Trout Lake's subdivision and campground have also been evacuated, plus at least two people at Little Bear Lake campground, 600 workers from the Foran mine at McIlveena Bay, and around 500 people from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation. Displaced evacuees have been provided accommodations in Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Regina, Lloydminster and Cold Lake. The evacuation orders are in addition to previous ones issued for residents of Narrow Hills Provincial Park, Lower Fishing Lake and Piprell Lake. Meanwhile, a fire that started northwest of Creighton on Sunday has swept over the Manitoba border. Although the town has not issued an evacuation order for its residents, the neighbouring Manitoba community of Flin Flon is on a pre-alert according to the Canadian Press. — with files from Alec Salloum, Canadian Press lkurz@ 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.
