National and international fire crews continue to arrive in Saskatchewan

WATCH: Twenty-three firefighters from New Brunswick were headed to Saskatchewan Monday to help fight prairie wildfires.

After battling mainly human-caused blazes at the start of this year’s fire season – the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is receiving much-needed reinforcements as lightning strikes continue to spark fires in the north.

The agency will be receiving 23 firefighters from New Brunswick today – which will supplement other national and international crews.

“The Quebec crew, the Australians and the Mexican crews have been dispatched to the west side. The crews that are coming in from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick will be looking likely to be assigned in that Weyawkwin area as a next wave,” Steve Roberts, vice president of operations for the SPSA, explained.

“It’s not just of that we’re adding more. It’s also that we have other crews that are coming out. In some cases, this is replacement, some cases it’s an augmentation.”

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

The province previously reported that 40 firefighters from Australia and 40 from Mexico would be travelling to the province.

The reinforcements are much needed, as Roberts said on July 18, many crews have been working almost non-stop for the past six weeks.

Fourteen local fire departments are currently engaged or are travelling to the province’s western regions to aid firefighting efforts.

As of Monday afternoon, there are 52 active wildfires in the province – with only three being considered contained. Thirteen are not contained, 20 are ongoing assessments, and 16 are listed as protecting values.

A total of 384 fires have been recorded since the beginning of the year, falling short of the 404 fires in the same period in 2024 – but above the five-year average of 309.

Currently, the area of highest concern for the province is the Beauval complex of fires, which includes the Trail Fire and the Muskeg Fire – due to the multiple communities and highways being affected.

Updated statistics from the SPSA show that there are now 2,800 evacuees from across the province – with a total of eight communities under active evacuation orders.

Some residents of the town of Île-à-la-Crosse have been forced to leave due to air quality concerns. The community is currently under a voluntary evacuation order.

“The fire is not currently a direct threat to the town of Île-à-la-Crosse and again, it’s access of critical supplies and support is being maintained by the Public Safety Agency and Department of Highways,” Roberts added.

Even though human-caused fires are posing less of a threat, the provincial fire ban is remaining in place for the area north of the provincial forest boundary and south of the Churchill River.

Wildfires of note

• Shoe Fire 554,667 hectares (Lower Fishing Lake area, Highway 912 closed)
• Pisew Fire 197,263 hectares (West of La Ronge)
• Wolf Fire 159,903 hectares (Near Denare Beach)
• Ditch Fire 188,819 hectares (North of Weyakwin)
• Muskeg Fire 221,491 hectares (Affecting La Plonge and Beauval, Highways 918 and 165 closed from junctions 155 to 914)
• Buhl Fire 38,216 hectares (Affecting northeast corner of the Prince Albert National Park, Highway 916 closed)
• Trail Fire 18,597 hectares (West of Beauval, intermittent highway closures in the area)
• Park Fire 20,900 hectares (14.5 kilometres north of La Loche)