Of the dozens of active wildfires burning in Saskatchewan, several of them are at risk of endangering nearby communities. 

SPSA Executive Director of Land Operations Bryan Chartrand says there are currently seven wildfires burning close to northern towns, including Sandy Bay, Wollaston Lake, Southend, Creighton, and St. George’s Hill.

Three of the seven fires surround Southend, all within 22 kilometres of the northern town. One fire of note, the SEIR 01 fire, is 2500 hectares in size.  

“It started on the 26th by lightning. It is 16 kilometres away from Southend to the east.”

He says a successful backburn operation was conducted in recent days, halting the fire’s progression towards the community.  

Sandy Bay is another community in a precarious position, as it is in the middle of the 9,100-hectare Border Fire and the 12-hectare Church Fire.  Those fires are 26 kilometres and 3.5 kilometres away from the town, respectively.

Chartrand says all seven of these fires were started by lightning. 

“We had more human-start fires at this time last year compared to no, whereas this year, we’ve received a few human-starts a couple weeks ago, but essentially a majority of our fires so far have been lighting. All of the current fires that we are experiencing right now have been lighting made in the north.”

There are currently 56 active wildfires in the province. Seven are contained, three are not, 36 are under ongoing assessment, and 10 have values protection underway.