There are more wildfires, but because of the weather situation, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has revoked the provincial fire ban. Vice-president of Operations, Steve Roberts, says that doesn’t mean all communities have revoked their bans – it’s just the ban for provincial lands. He expects areas in the extreme south will have their own, whether it’s communities, rural municipalities or regional parks.
Roberts explains that fire bans aren’t initiated because of the number of fires. It’s more about the potential for fires, how they can be managed and the current weather conditions. He notes that there was some scattered rain in the north over the weekend, but that also brought lightning, which meant an increase in wildfires. There are 161 active fires in the province, and to date there have been 424, which is almost double the five year average.
Of the 11 fires of most concern because they are near communities or could cross highways, Roberts says the ones at the top of the list are the Lock fire which is immediately adjacent to the communities of Dillon and Michel Village, the Harding fire north of Smeaton which threatens Highway 106, the Lynx fire near Stanley Mission which has been evacuated, and the GMB01 fire near Grandmother’s Bay.
Joan Hrycyk with the SPSA says there were no additional evacuation orders over the weekend. The Agency has been involved with 84 evacuations from the lock fire and 12 from the White fire, but some communities have evacuated with assistance directly from The Canadian Red Cross, so she has information on them. The SPSA continues to recommend no unnecessary travel to the north.
Click here for specific information on the 11 fires of note. July 19 Fire Situational Awareness Unit Bulletin(1)
Prince Albert National Park has also cancelled its fire ban.
The Saskatchewan RCMP has received notice from SaskTel that the phone service affected in the wildfires is working again. The RCMP says last Thursday night, SaskTel announced internet, wireless and landline services were out in Stanley Mission, Fond du Lac, Wollaston Lake, Black Lake and other communities north of La Ronge. When that happened, RCMP advised everyone from from the affected areas who needed the police to try to make it to the nearest Detachment.
