Saskatchewan declares state of emergency as wildfires worsen

WATCH: Sask. has declared a provincial state of emergency as wildfires threaten more communities in the north. Laura Woodward has more.

Saskatchewan has officially declared a provincial state of emergency as wildfires continue to threaten several communities in the province’s north.

It’s a serious situation that is bound to get worse before it gets better, according to Premier Scott Moe.

“Just looking ahead to the weather forecast. It doesn’t look good. It looks like it is going to further deteriorate. There’s no rain in the forecast,” Moe told reporters during a news conference in Prince Albert on Thursday.

The declaration will allow the province to use several initiatives to help support wildfire suppression and firefighter activities.

Moe encouraged those with firefighting experience to make themselves known and assist with ongoing efforts.

“Individuals that have some training and certification in wildland firefighting, we’d ask that you report to your nearest fire base and identify yourself as available,” he said. “We’re going to try to find a place for you to defend a northern community in this province.”

According to Moe, the province has supported the evacuation of about 15 communities so far.

The state of emergency will last 30 days – and has the ability to be extended. While the state of emergency is in effect, daily media briefs are expected.

As of Thursday afternoon, there are 17 active wildfires in the province, eight are considered not contained.

A total of 44 structures have been lost so far to the flames.

“Out of the [206] fires at this point, currently, less of those are attributed to lightning. So in other words, people have caused these fires,” explained Steve Roberts, the vice president of operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

“There will be a time where lightning starts. There is not a lot we can do but prepare for that. But we can make an impact on human caused fires. It’s people hearing the message and following the message to make sure that we do not add or compound to this problem.”

At this point, the Government of Saskatchewan is not requesting military assistance – unlike Manitoba, which made the request when it declared its state of emergency Wednesday.

“In the current situation in Saskatchewan, there is no spot where we would be putting large amounts of military individuals, and we currently do not have evacuation situations that require military aircraft,” Roberts added.

However, support from outside of Saskatchewan is still on its way. Aircraft from both Quebec and Alaska are expected. Ground resources are also being provided by Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

The SPSA has launched a dedicated, toll-free phone line for people with general questions about the wildfire situation in Saskatchewan.

The line will be staffed from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m. and can be reached by calling 1-855-559-5502.

Wildfire by the numbers

SPSA President and Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard provided a rundown of the current wildfire situation.

“Over the next couple days, we’re anticipating high temperatures and winds, which is again going to fuel the situation and cause some extreme fire behavior on the landscape,” he said.

The fires of note include:

Shoe Fire

The Shoe Fire remains the largest in the province. It covers 216,000 hectares and is currently uncontained. The blaze is responsible for the destruction of several structures near East Trout Lake.

“That is still being worked on to determine the area and the size of the structures that we have lost, and how many. We have crews still in the area, both in East Trout Lake and lower Fishing Lake,” Pritchard said.

“As you can tell from the size of it, this is a very difficult fire to work on.”

JaySmith Fire

The JaySmith Fire located north of Missinipe has grown to 33,000 hectares. Firefighters conducted a successful back burn Wednesday night but have not been able to reenter the community due to smoke.

Pelican2 Fire

The Pelican 2 Fire located near Pelican Narrows has grown to approximately 55,873 hectares and is uncontained. Staff remain in the community and are working on hot spots and protecting property.

Club Fire

The Club Fire, located north of Creighton, covers around 25,000 hectares – with most of the affected areas lying across the border in Manitoba. The Club Fire is responsible for the evacuation order issued for the city of Flin Flon on May 28.

“The fire activity yesterday was very aggressive. Crews did have to retreat due to the intensity of fires - and smoke has been an issue in regards to our activities today,” Pritchard explained.

Wolf Fire

The Wolf Fire located west of Denare Beach is currently 29,400 hectares in size and is uncontained. Firefighters are working to protect the Foran mine site, that is located in the area.

Pisew Fire

The Pisew Fire located west of La Ronge, near Hall lake, currently covers 55,767 hectares and is not contained.

Ditch Fire

The Ditch Fire covers around 2,500 hectares and is responsible for the evacuation of the hamlet of Weyakwin, located around 145 kilometres north of Prince Albert. The fire is also impacting Highway 2.

“All these fires are currently being actioned by ground assets, air assets and heavy equipment to protect values and prevent further damage the best that we can,” Pritchard added.

Impact on First Nations

Late Wednesday saw three First Nations in Saskatchewan declare a joint state of emergency over the rapidly escalating wildfire situation – which has forced thousands of people to leave their homes.

The Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Montreal Lake Cree Nation say evacuation routes, including Hanson Lake Road and Highway 2, have been cut off and some communities have been boxed in by fire and smoke.

According to Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter A. Beaty, more than 5,500 members of his community have been evacuated – with the fires forcing full evacuations in Denare Beach and Pelican Narrows.

Additionally, the First Nations expressed concerns over the “critical” shortages of firefighting resources, personnel and air support.

Moe says he has been in contact with northern Indigenous leaders, and municipal leaders in the area.

As of Thursday morning, the village of Weyakwin – located 145 kilometres north of Prince Albert – is the subject of an ordered evacuation due to wildfire risk.

The resort village of Candle Lake remains under a voluntary evacuation order – while an evacuation notice was issued for the community of Creighton late Wednesday.