Buckland Fire and Rescue is helping to fight the wildfires in the North. (Buckland Fire/Rescue/Facebook)

By paNOW Staff

Shifting winds

Friday wildfire update; smoke hampering firefighting efforts

May 30, 2025 | 12:33 PM

The number of wildfires burning in the province dropped overnight from 17 to 16. A fire burning near Christopher Lake was contained and is no longer considered a wildfire of note issued in the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s (SPSA) daily wildfire bulletin.

The massive Shoe Fire has now charred 305,000 hectares and is still not contained. To give some perspective, that’s about 13 times the size of Saskatoon. The SPSA said it recorded trace precipitation in showers with up to 5mm in the area, however they’re concerned about strong winds in the forecast and a risk of dry lightning in thunderstorms.

In anticipation of the wind shifting to the northwest in the afternoon, crews will be addressing excursions, or portions of wildfire that have broken free from a control line, and spot fires in the stubble. They will also have Smeaton and Choiceland fire departments on alert for help. The guard around Candle Lake is nearing completion and ‘looks good.’

Tomorrow, the SPSA will be moving its Incident Command Centre to Choiceland. Candle Lake was a temporary location; moving to Choiceland will allow them easier and closer access to available resources along Highway 55, according to a post the resort village’s Facebook page.

The Jaysmith fire, northeast of Missinipe, is 33,642 hectares in size. The SPSA said crews will work on the fire line southwest of Brabant and around the community.

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The Pisew fire, west of La Ronge is not contained at 61,205 hectares. The fire has crossed Hwy 165 and closed area highways. Helicopters are bucketing the flames and the community of Hall Lake, which was evacuated a few days ago, continues to be secure. The SPSA is looking to get a float plane to set up more value protection units on the northwest side of the fire.

The Wolf fire, west of Denare Beach, is 29,000 hectares. Helicopters will do bucketing as smoke conditions allow, but there are limited resources on the fire.

The SPSA notes also said, “People in the area that are refusing to leave are causing some issues with firefighting personnel.”

The Pelican2 fire, northeast of Pelican Narrows, has now joined with the Point fire. Crews will action along the roadway near the graveyard in the community. Helicopters will bucket and Skimmers will be used to cool the area near the road to give crews a chance to action the blaze in the morning if visibility allows.

The Club fire, north of Creighton, is 25,000 hectares. Helicopters were not able to bucket until the evening yesterday due to poor visibility. The focus today is on the southwest side near the community.

The Ditch02 fire, north of Weyakwin, is 2,500 hectares. Crews will continue patrolling around the community extinguishing hotspots around the perimeter.

There are 16 wildfires burning in the province; 7 are not contained. A total of 16 different communities have been evacuated leaving approximately 4,300 people displaced.

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