Beginning Wednesday morning, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency started to release the Canadian Armed Forces crew members that have been providing wildfire support.  

SPSA Vice President Steve Roberts says about half or 140 CAF members were released Wednesday, and the rest will be sent home Friday morning. He adds that situation improvement has also allowed Australian crews to return home. The two water bombers from Quebec have done the same. 

Roberts says tremendous progress has been made in the last week and a half when it comes to containing fires.

“The Buhl Fire by the National Park, the Ditch Fire by Weyakwin, Pisew Fire beside La Ronge, the Shoe Fire near Lower Fishing Lake, the Wolf and the Sturgeon fires near Denare Beach, and the Hawk Fire by Hall Lake all are now listed as contained.”

Despite a recent heatwave, mainly hitting southern Saskatchewan, Roberts is confident the rest of the summer will be less chaotic. 

“In addition to the temporary weather conditions, we also have to factor in the days are getting shorter, the nighttime recover is better, and the work we’ve done on these fires to make sure they aren’t active on their perimeters will ensure that we have less likelihood of these fires becoming problematic.”

There are currently 49 active wildfires, eight of which are not yet contained.