Some northern communities are making preparations to evacuate as the number of active fires continues to climb. There have been 369 so far, while the five-year average is 209.
Article content
Saskatchewan has topped its five-year wildfire record by more than 150 this year, and the number continues to climb.
Article content
As of Thursday afternoon, 129 active fires were reported in the province. Twenty-five were not contained. There have been 369 so far. The province’s five-year average is 209.
Speaking with reporters, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice president of operations Steve Roberts said with hot, dry conditions expected to continue into next week, the agency is working to balance fighting large fires with mitigating new ones.
“We have a contingent of staff and helicopters available to initiate action on some of these new fires when they start and when they’re small, and we have been able to contain and put out a large number of fires,” he said, noting more than 200 have been extinguished so far.
As the number of active fires continues to increase, Roberts said the agency has secured “a number of” local Type 3 firefighters, mostly working in their area of hire.
While the SPSA has inquired into the availability of crews from outside Saskatchewan, it has not yet started importing any, he said.
There are currently five fires of concern. The largest — covering 300,380 hectares near Stanley Mission and 200,260 hectares near Stoney Rapids and Black Lake — are not contained and expected to grow in size.
Fifty-eight people have been forced to leave due to a fire in the vicinity of Dillon, St. George’s Hill, Michel Village and Buffalo River Dene Nation. Evacuees are staying in North Battleford and Lloydminster.
Communities are making preparations in case more evacuations are on the horizon. In a post on Facebook Wednesday, Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson said charter buses had arrived in La Ronge and were on standby in case the band needs to evacuate, since wildfires have started around the community.
Article content
Cook-Searson was unavailable for comment on Thursday.
The last time residents of La Ronge, Air Ronge and the LLRIB were forced to flee from encroaching wildfires was the unprecedented evacuation of 13,000 residents from 50 communities in 2015 — the largest evacuation effort in Saskatchewan’s history.
Cook-Searson and LLRIB councillors took to helicopters on Thursday to survey fires in the area. Coun. Gerald McKenzie flew over one of the uncontained fires, east of Grandmother’s Bay.
Article content
Roberts said the weather won’t generally help much over the next few days. While there may be some rain and storm activity, there is also the potential for lightning, he said.
“From a fire perspective, we will likely only see significant relief in the far, far north where the temperatures are going to come down,” he said.
With the current fire load and the fire risk remaining in the high to extreme range, the fire ban that came into effect earlier this month will remain, Roberts said. It will be reviewed in a few days based on weather conditions.
The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
Saskatchewan topples five-year wildfire average by more than 150 - Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment