Homes in the area of the fire were evacuated Monday afternoon. (Submitted photo/Dwight Bergstrom)

By paNOW Staff

Big blaze

P.A. wildfire still uncontained

May 18, 2021 | 9:57 AM

As crews continue to tackle a large wildfire burning on the northeast edge of the city, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s website shows the blaze is 3694.8 hectares in size and still uncontained.

No further information was immediately available Tuesday morning, as we await further updates from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and the City of P.A.

There is no official word yet on any damage to homes or structures in the area.

An interactive map from Natural Resources Canada shows the size and shape of the fire as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. (Screenshot/Natural Resources Canada)

The fire as viewed Monday night at 10:30 p.m., 10 km east of P.A.(Submitted photo/Bria Lindsay)

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In the meantime the fire response is impacting travel.

Hwy 55 and Pulp Haul Road remain closed. Barricades are set up at Prince Albert and Meath Park.

Drivers are encouraged to use Highways 2 and 355 to get to and from the city.

Power still out

Sask Power confirms 8,800 customers were affected by Monday’s power outage.

A transmission line was damaged by the fire and it’s not clear yet when repairs can be completed.

Areas impacted by the outage include Meath park, Paddockwood, Christopher Lake, Waskesiu, La Ronge and Stanley Mission.

Sasktel is also experiencing outages in Prince Albert and surrounding areas, La Ronge, Montreal Lake, Weyakwin, Emma Lake and Waskesiu Lake.

Infrastructure threatened

Meanwhile Paper Excellence says there was no damage to the Prince Albert Pulp Mill.

Graham Kissack, vice president of EHS and Corporate Communications at Paper Excellence told paNOW workers at the site were evacuated Monday at the direction of the fire department but have since been allowed to return.

“Luckily the wind direction was such that there was enough distance between the fire and the mill that there was no impact on the site,” said Kissack.

“We are highly highly appreciative of the expert efforts of the emergency responders,” he added.

Carrier Forest Products Ltd. and Carrier Lumber Ltd. did not immediately respond to request for comment but a video submitted to paNOW appears to show crews battling the blaze on a lumber pile near Carrier’s reload division northeast of Prince Albert.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow