The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has revised its fire ban in an effort to prevent any additional human-initiated wildfires.

The provincial fire ban now includes all vacant Crown land, Provincial parks located within the provincial forest, and the provincial forest, including the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District.

The changes came into effect as of 5:00 p.m. on Monday. This means all open fires, controlled burns and fireworks are now prohibited within the designated boundary.

SPSA Vice-President of Operations Steve Roberts says “An extreme fire risk exists across most of the province. The majority of the active fires in the province are caused by human activity. It is important for everyone to know that human-caused fires are preventable.”

The SPSA says basic precautions like not driving a vehicle on dry grass, drowning campfires until embers are cool and talking to young children about fire safety can make an impact on the number of fires in Saskatchewan.

As of 3 p.m., there are 20 wildfires burning in the province. To date, Saskatchewan has had 200 wildfires, which is 36 more than the same point in time last year of 164. The wildfire 5-year average in Saskatchewan to date is 123.