Saskatchewan lifts provincial fire ban as conditions improve

Signage on Highway 2 North near the Provincial Wildfire Center in Prince Albert, Sask., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has lifted a provincial fire ban as cool temperatures and rain have tempered the fire risk across the province.

“This rain is very much appreciated,” said Bryan Chartrand, executive director of land operations with the SPSA. “It’s a sign of relief. We’re all happy about it.”

The ban, which came into effect on May 29, was lifted at 11 a.m. Wednesday. The fire ban prohibited any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks in central and southern Saskatchewan.

The ban covered resort subdivisions, northern settlements, titled and lease properties as well as Crown land, provincial parks and recreational sites.

• Fire ban in effect for central, southern Saskatchewan: SPSA

Chartrand said many factors are considered before implementing fire bans.

However, the main considerations are weather, the status of fire crews provincewide, and the number of human-caused fires.

“If we’re only getting a lot of starts because a dry lightning system went through and it’s not actually caused by humans, we don’t want to start putting on too many restrictions too quickly, because that affects lots of business and commercial industry and things like that,” he explained.

According to Chartrand, the agency is preparing for a hot and dry summer in the north.

We’ll be monitoring and looking at our forecast quite regularly," he said. “... But again, weather is a challenge to forecast accurately. Hopefully, there’s a little bit more moisture than what’s predicted.”

Wildfire status

As of 12 p.m. Wednesday, there are 12 active wildfires across Saskatchewan.

Three are listed as not contained and include the Lobstick fire near Duck Lake and Shellbrook, the Cayford fire located south of Red Earth Cree Nation and the McGaffin fire located between Pelican Narrows and South End.

According to the SPSA, the Lobstick fire has seen minimal growth since the weekend, as it’s reported to cover nearly 19,000 hectares.

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The Cayford fire now reportedly covers 12,800 hectares. Despite still being not contained, around 1,200 residents of Red Earth Cree Nation and Shoal Lake Cree Nation are now in the process of returning home after being forced to evacuate due to the fire threatening Highway 55.

“We’re adding additional resources to that fire, so we don’t foresee it progressing towards the communities or even the roadway, which is why they’re going home,” Chartrand added.

The SPSA is also responding to the McGaffin fire, located around 75 kilometres from both Pelican Narrows and South End.

The fire, which is listed as covering just one hectare, was reportedly sparked by lightning.

There have been 96 reported wildfires so far in 2026, down drastically from the 228 fires reported in the same period last year.