Firefighters making headway after busy weekend

Firefighters have been able to make headway to extinguish several fires in Saskatchewan during the weekend.

That’s according to Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice-president of operations, Steve Roberts, who said additional resources have been deployed to manage the fires. He explained 150 local firefighters have recently been hired, along with assistance from some structural fire departments.

For instance, the White Fire that was a threat to Whelan Bay is now listed as contained, as well as the Fork Fire which was a threat to Beauval.

“We continue to make improvements on a number of other fires in the area as well, those that are threatening communities and highways in the province,” Roberts said. “In general summary, we have 11 communities or highway threat fires that are currently in the province, but we continue to send our crews and resources to those as high priority fires.”

Fires burning near Grandmother’s Bay and Stanley Mission continue to be of high priority, as well as another fire burning near Michel Village and St. George’s Hill. As of 12 p.m. on July 19, there were 161 active fires in Saskatchewan with a total of 424 this year, which is nearly double the five-year average of 214.

Due to precipitation during the weekend and cooler temperatures in the forecast, the provincial fire ban has been lifted. Roberts noted there may be areas in the extreme south where rural municipalities, cities or parks may have restrictions in place to handle local conditions.

“In the province over the last weekend, we received scattered precipitation and cooler temperatures across the northern half of the province,” he said. “Some areas that did receive rainfall, others did not. Generally, because of that activity, because of what we are projecting, these cooler temperatures will prevail.”

The provincial government is also still advising against non-essential travel into northern areas. That’s due to concerns of smoke, potential access restrictions and ensuring firefighting activity is not hampered.

Some evacuees from Grandmother’s Bay have already headed home. The voluntary evacuation order was lifted Saturday and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band was arranging transportation of residents back to the community.

— Story by larongeNOW’s Derek Cornet