Wildfire smoke in Weyakwin on May 30, 2025. (Lis Hennie/Facebook)

By Gillian Massie - CKOM News

Wildfires

More evacuations triggered by Sask wildfires as evacuee space runs short

Jun 1, 2025 | 5:02 PM

Gusty winds and hot temperatures caused flames to scorch more of Saskatchewan’s landscape overnight, according to Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) vice-president Steve Roberts.

“This will drastically impact our ability to contain some of these fires, and will actually cause some of these fires to grow in size over the next period of time,” he said on Sunday in SPSA’s daily briefing.

An evacuation alert was issued around 11 a.m. Sunday for the northern hamlet of Timber Bay, on the east side of Montreal Lake in north-central Saskatchewan and a pre-evacuation alert was issued for Molanosa, a community at the northeast end of Montreal Lake.

Both communities are being impacted by the Ditch02 Fire, burning on the west side of the lake.

Roberts is encouraging people who are self-evacuating to watch for alerts and look at the Highway Hotline to find out which roads are closed.

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With over 8,000 people evacuated from their communities, Roberts said spots to put them are beginning to fill up.

Fire risk in the province on June 1, 2025. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)

“In the case in Saskatchewan, now we do see that we have pretty much occupied every available space, right from the north all the way down to Weyburn,” Roberts said.

Some people have been sent outside the province, like members of Canoe Lake going to Cold Lake, A.B.

“We wouldn’t try to disrupt people or remove them more than once,” he said. “It is often critical, when we move people from their homes, that families do remain intact, communities remain mostly intact where we can because they’re providing that emotional support for each other.”

Roberts said crews are happy with how the fire break construction is going near Candle Lake, but did not have a time frame as to when it would be finished.

In La Ronge, a community notice was issued for the area on Sunday as both the Pisew and Shoe fires made rapid advancements overnight, however, they do not pose a threat to region at this time.

“Wildfires continue to burn south and east of the La Ronge region,” read the notice. “Winds from the west have caused some of these fires to travel quickly overnight, impacting highways and creating smoky conditions. While these fires do not currently pose a direct threat to our communities, road closures and thick smoke are a reminder of how quickly things can change.”

It added that leaders from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Town of La Ronge, and the Northern Village of Air Ronge met with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and other emergency officials earlier on Sunday to ensure they are prepared for every possible scenario.

“Today’s meeting was about readiness, not alarm. Together, we are reviewing potential impacts on food and fuel supply chains, emergency access routes, and health supports. Our focus is on ensuring that the systems we need are in place before they are needed.”

How SPSA determines area burned

Roberts believed that many fires spread overnight due to winds, but did not have the numbers to map it out just yet.

Roberts said the SPSA’s satellite imaging can often determine if a fire is growing, but needs to verify how how much of the ground has burned, rather than include area covered by hot air.

Roberts believed one of the fires that grew quickly was the Ditch02 Fire, but was waiting for the numbers to improve it.

“That fire has likely doubled in size, very aggressive fire behaviour,” he said.

Nipawin fire crews spray retardant on cat lines north of Love, SK, on May 31, 2025. (Nipawin Fire/Facebook)

As of 12 p.m. on June 1, there were 15 active fires burning in Saskatchewan.

About 500,000 hectares of land have burned so far this wildfire season, a number that Roberts expects to increase.

Roberts said that eight of those blazes were not contained, while another two were under ongoing assessment and firefighters were protecting values in one. Four fires were considered contained.

Contained means suppression action is taking place and the fire is not expected to grow in size, ongoing assessment means the fire is being monitored regularly to assess risk to values in the area and not contained means suppression action is taking place but the fire is expected to grow in size, according to SPSA. Protecting values means a fire is active and action is focused on protecting things like cabins and infrastructure.

As well, fire bans are active in 56 urban municipalities, 122 rural municipalities and 23 provincial parks in the province, with the fire danger considered extreme over much of Saskatchewan.

SPSA said in its daily report there have been 214 fires in Saskatchewan so far in 2025. The five-year average to date for Saskatchewan wildfires is 129.

– with files from paNOW