Parts of Saskatchewan continue to deal with dry conditions heading into the long weekend, prompting reminders about wildfire safety and risk. As of Thursday, May 15, 11 wildfires were burning in the province. But the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says it’s a slight improvement thanks to better conditions this week than last. But while rain is expected in the southeast part of the province later this week, it’s been dry up north. “I really wish we were getting the rain that we’re seeing in Regina in the north,” said Scott Moe, premier of Saskatchewan. “I don’t think we are. It’s tinder dry in the north. I was home last weekend and it’s terribly dry.” The 155 wildfires to date match the numbers from last year, which are well above the five-year average of 96 to this point. Fire bans are in place for most rural municipalities (RM) in southern and central Saskatchewan, while the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River are also under fire ban. “Virtually all the fires are started by us, people,” said Moe. “Not intentionally, whether it be quads or whatever that might be. And so I just ask people to be very, very careful in everything they’re doing.” Two wildfires of note are the Shoe fire near Lower Fishing Lake, which has burned around 16,000 hectares to date. The other is the Camp fire located north of Snowden which has consumed 32,000 hectares since May 6. Both of those fires are located near the Resort Village of Candle Lake, prompting a pre-evacuation alert to be issued. Residents there have been advised to prepare for a possible evacuation on short notice. “Our resources fluctuate as they’re needed and prioritized,” said Bryan Chartrand, executive director of land operations, SPSA. “They can go from fire to fire or to new starts. The exact numbers do fluctuate throughout the day. But as of this moment, we have 53 resources on the Camp fire and we have 65 resources on the Shoe fire.” Meanwhile in the RM of Garden River, residents there say the second fire in four years had them feeling déjà vu. “Here we go again,” said Penny Zelensky, a resident of the RM. “We had to get our stuff out, stuff out of the house and vehicles out on to the field and just get away from the yard basically. Because once you’re out in the field, there was no danger except for the smoke.” Despite the fire crossing the highway, Zelensky says it missed her property by a few hundred metres, and that’s a helpless feeling. “It’s a surreal experience,” she said. “Especially when the fire is that close you think, well okay I might lose my house. That’s not a good feeling at all.” Residents can get updates on wildfires from the SPSA website.
