There are 25 fires currently burning in the province. There have been 214 so far this year.
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A wildfire burning near Cameco’s Cigar Lake uranium mine has expanded to over 22,000 hectares, the Saskatchewan Public Health Agency reported Saturday.
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The Briggs fire is one of two in the province that SPSA Agency vice-president of operations Steve Roberts identified as a fire of concern, as the province moves past its five-year average for wildfires only a few days into July.
Roberts provided an update to reporters about the current risk of wildfires as heat wave temperatures start to alleviate. He reported that four new fires had started in the last 24 hours, although a fifth was added to the SPSA’s website shortly after his statement.
As of late Saturday morning, there were 20 fires burning in the province. By the evening, that number sat at 25. Nine of those are uncontained.
There have been 214 to date — 17 more than the five-year average of 197.
The Briggs fire sparked on June 29, engulfing more than 1,500 hectares by that evening and leading to the evacuation of hundreds of non-essential workers. Mapping work has determined it now covers over 22,000 hectares, Roberts said.
Crews have been able to secure the perimeter around the mine site and it’s currently considered secure from direct fire threat.
The second fire of concern is the Lock fire, about 45 kilometres west of Buffalo Narrows and 20 km from St. George’s Hill. It’s also uncontained and sits at 4,700 hectares.
That fire has received a non-significant amount of rain, Roberts said, but enough that its behaviour is being “moderated,” giving crews an opportunity to take advantage of cooling temperatures to start working to contain it.
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“Generally from a weather perspective, the province is going to finally see a cooling trend from this heat dome activity we’ve been seeing,” Roberts said. “We’re starting to experienc(e) that in the northern part of the province and that includes some precipitation, but it also includes some lightning.”
The biggest concern is the eastern flank of the fire, he said, which could pose a direct threat to communities in that area.
A provincial fire ban went into effect Friday, with the intention of mitigating the risk of human-caused fires while working to manage existing ones.
More information and a live map of current fires are available at saskatchewan.ca/fire.
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Cigar Lake mine wildfire covers over 22,000 hectares, Sask. tops five-year average - Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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