Officials across Saskatchewan are assessing the forecast after fire crews battled grass fires over the weekend. A large plume of smoke could be seen from Regina’s north end on Saturday near the Uplands neighbourhood. Security officials at the Co-op Refinery and an area resident told CTV News its believed a train sparked the fire. The blaze torched about 250 acres of land according to Chief Layne Jackson with Regina Fire and Protective Services (RFPS). “We had a lot of crews out there, a lot of firefighters. They did a phenomenal job on attacking and extinguishing that fire. Kept it from getting into business or buildings that were in and along the perimeter also.” That was not the only fire that happened over the weekend. Around 300 to 600 acres of land burned near Cowessess First Nation. “It was carried by high winds. The conditions have been very dry lately but fortunately it was burning downhill which causes the fire to burn slower,” explained Captain David Bobb of the Kahkewistahaw Fire Department. Bobb said the fire is believed to have been started by a vehicle driving around in a pasture with the muffler of the vehicle coming into contact with high grass. According to officials, grass fires in early May are not uncommon. “We see these types of fires pick up in the fall especially in the spring because there’s still a lot of dead vegetation. If it’s at all dry we can see grass fires and they can spread quite quickly,” Jackson explained. Many regions of the province, including Regina, saw summer-like conditions over the weekend, with temperatures hovering near 30 C. The Queen City did receive a reprieve in the form of rain Sunday night into Monday morning. However, hot and dry conditions are forecasted to return. “[We’re] expecting daytime highs in the mid to upper teens which is more or less normal for this time of year. But we are expecting the warmer weather to return by the end of the week,” said Danielle Desjardins, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), there have been 106 wildfires so far this year. The figure is normal when compared to the same point last year. However, recent fire statistics are still double the five-year average for the province.
