Wildfires increase in Saskatchewan due to hot, dry conditions

With most of Saskatchewan under a heat wave, more wildfires are starting.

Due to hot and dry conditions, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Association (SPSA) issued a provincial fire ban for Crown lands and provincial parks, provincial recreation sites and the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District.

“Either we get significant precipitation cooling effects or we can mitigate a number of these existing wildfires,” said Steve Roberts, SPSA Vice-President of Operations. “So, if our response capacity increases, we’re willing to absorb a little more risk.”

Heading into the weekend, many camp enthusiasts were not happy campers when they learned of the fire ban.

“We were planning (on having a fire) for a few of our meals, but we were able to adjust them pretty easily,” said camper Sarah Proctor. “The girls were a little sad about (it) but we did some s’mores on the inside propane fire.”

SPSA said as of Friday, there are currently 79 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Many communities in the province have issued evacuation alerts such as Creighton and Denare Beach. SPSA stated that surpassed its five-year average of 211 wildfires with 317 this year so far.

— with files from Nicole Healey