The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says this spring has been the busiest early wildfire season it’s seen in several decades.
SPSA Vice-President of Operations Steve Roberts says he has been in his position for 21 years, and Saskatchewan is currently facing the most concentrated, active and impactful fire season he has seen.
He adds that it is unclear exactly how many people have had to be evacuated due to northern wildfires, as it is a voluntary process and doesn’t need to be documented, but the SPSA knows of at least 3,008 people that have had to head south, including 600 employees at the Foran mine near the Manitoba border. Roberts adds that impacted communities include but aren’t limited to Whelan Bay, Pelican Narrows, Lower Fishing Lakes, and Brabant Lake.
Roberts adds that Saskatchewan fire crews are tired, both physically, and of being told that they aren’t doing enough even after 16-hour workdays. Resources are exhausted, and the province has reached out for additional fire crews and equipment.
“We have made requests through our inter-agency partners for fire crews, fire equipment, and more aircrafts to be delivered to Saskatchewan to join us in this effort in the near future.”
He says nearly 100 per cent of the wildfires that have occurred this year to date have been human-caused and were fully preventable. Currently, there are 21 active wildfires in the province, ten of which are not contained. To date, Saskatchewan has had 205 wildfires, which is up from the same point in time last year at 165. The wildfire 5-year average in Saskatchewan to date is 124. Fires of note include the Shoe Fire near Narrow Hills Provincial Park, which has engulfed the Camp Fire. It is 216,000 hectares in size. Other fires under focus include the Jaysmith Fire north of La Ronge. It is 18,000 hectares in size.
“Two things to consider, some off these large fires will take the entire season to be monitored before they are completely out. In addition, at some point we will start to see lighting. On the positive note, some of those lightning fires of course will be coming with rain.”
In response to the Fire Chief for the resort village of Candle Lake calling on the SPSA for assistance, the government agency has responded that it doesn’t consider their situation an emergency. In a news conference Tuesday morning, Chief Jim Arnold is hoping the SPSA could help them build a firebreak.
SPSA President Marlo Pritchard says a mitigation specialist has been sent to Candle Lake, and the agency will continue to work with the community to expedite the permits needed, however it will not be an immediate fix.
“Really what it comes down to, is that community right now is not in imminent threat. There is still definitely a fire in the vicinity, but it’s not what we would declare an emergency…What we do see, at least in the SHOE fire at this point in time, is that the winds are favourable. It’s pushing it away from the community, or keeping it away from the community. We have not seen significant growth in the last few days, and it’s still around 27 kilometers away from the community.”
The fire was 27 km away from Candle Lake Tuesday afternoon and several evacuations have occurred in the area. Highways 106, 120, 912 and 913 have closures in effect.
