A human caused wildfire near Weyakwin is causing traffic delays along Highway 2. (Submitted photo)

By Derek Cornet

active season

Wildfires lead to evacuations of three northern communities

May 27, 2025 | 4:57 PM

Full evacuations of three communities are currently underway in Northern Saskatchewan.

In a provincial wildfire update on Tuesday, it was announced 1,700 people have been evacuated from Pelican Narrows because of the Pelican 2 Fire (850 hectares), while 380 people have left Hall Lake due to the Pisew Fire (51,000 ha). In addition, 27 residents of Brabant Lake have fled because of the Jay Smith Fire (18,000 ha).

On Monday, the Ditch 2 Fire (80 ha) started near Weyakwin along Highway 2. It’s been classified as human caused and a widely circulated social media post suggests it was deliberately set. larongeNOW reached out to the RCMP to determine if any arrests were made, but didn’t receive a response before this story was published.

“So far, it has not caused a closure of the highway, but again, we’ve hit it hard with some aircraft and equipment with both equipment and crews on the ground with the hope that it does not get any larger and impact the main corridor to the North,” said Steve Roberts, the operations manager for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

A state of emergency was issued Tuesday for Pelican Narrows. Roberts explained it gives the band council additional powers like triggering an evacuation or enacting bylaws. He noted it won’t affect the current actions being taken by the SPSA.

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So far in 2025, there been 205 wildfires to date with 21 actively burning. That’s higher than the 165 fires this time last year and well above five-year average of 124 wildfires.

“In summary, we have a very active, busy fire season that has triggered the response that we will continue and expand the provincial fire ban all the way to northern border of Saskatchewan to prevent any further human-caused fires,” Roberts remarked.

“At this point in time, even though we have a large number of fires, it is important to note almost every single one of those fires was human-caused fire starts and could have been prevented.”

Read more about the current wildfire situation in Saskatchewan online here.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com