Provincewide fire ban to remain in effect; SPSA says 30 wildfires active in Sask.

With a steamy weekend ahead, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency isn’t playing with the heat.

The provincewide fire ban will continue until at least Monday, according to Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice-president of operations Steve Roberts.

“The weather will continue to stay hot and dry for the next three to five days. As the system begins to break down, the systems will come in. We will get precipitation but that precipitation will be with lightning, in most cases, further escalating our concerns,” he said during an media conference call Thursday.

Thirty fires are active currently in Saskatchewan, up 16 from last week. There have been 232 wildfires so far this year, up 30 from the five-year average.

Six are uncontained and of concern, three are contained, 15 are being assessed and three have emergency crews protecting towns.

Three of the 30 active fires are also within 20 kilometres of a neighbouring town or village, according to Roberts.

“That includes the Stallard Fire (in the Stony Rapids area), the Lock Fire (near Dillon) and the Pothole Fire (near Stanley Mission). Those are the fires of most concern for us,” he said.

The provincewide fire ban spans all Crown lands and provincial parks in Saskatchewan, and prohibits open burning and burning permits.

Roberts said the lower temperatures and a bit of precipitation did help them in the battle, but the continued heat wave will add to the fire load.

“(It will) increase complexity on these fires. They will require more effort because of the conditions. We also have the risk of more lightning fires that may start to occur as the system winds down,” he added.

For a look at the active wildfire map in Saskatchewan, click here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an amended version of this story, with the correct spelling of Dillon.