Wildfire costs climb into millions as Saskatchewan lifts fire ban

The ban had prohibited open fires, controlled burns and fireworks across affected northern areas, including Crown land, provincial parks and recreational sites.

Officials said widespread rainfall and improved weather conditions prompted the decision.

“We feel confident that it’s dropped our indices enough that the fire ban is no longer required,” Chartrand said.

The SPSA noted municipalities and provincial parks may still have local fire bans or restrictions in place.

Across Saskatchewan, 11 wildfires remain active. Three are not contained, five are contained, two are under assessment and one is classified as protecting values or property.

The largest blaze, the Lobstick fire, remains at about 19,000 hectares. Officials reported minimal growth since the weekend and said crews continue to focus on extinguishing hotspots.

Rainfall of about 13 millimetres was recorded on the fire overnight.

“We do have favourable conditions over the next few days with chances of some more showers, cooler temperatures, cloudy… things of that nature,” Chartrand said. “Very, very optimistic that we are not going to be challenged with this fire.”

Conditions also improved enough at the Cayford fire burning near Shoal Lake and Red Earth Cree Nation that evacuation orders connected to the fire have been rescinded and residents are returning home.

Chartrand stressed the fire itself never directly threatened those nearby communities.

“The only thing that was impacting the community was the access to the community (Highway 55). So that’s why they left,” he said.

The Cayford fire remains at roughly 13,000 hectares.

Meanwhile, a new wildfire discovered Tuesday between Pelican Narrows and Southend remains small at about one hectare.

“We are putting resources on it,” Chartrand said, adding the fire is approximately 75 to 80 kilometres from either community and is not expected to pose a threat.

The SPSA currently has 92 resources assigned to the Lobstick fire and 25 assigned to the Cayford fire. Those totals include personnel, helicopters, heavy equipment and other firefighting assets.

Despite the recent rainfall, officials warned the season is far from over. Current forecasts suggest northern Saskatchewan could face hotter and drier conditions later this summer.

“It looks like it’s going to be hot and dry, which is a concern for us,” Chartrand said. “Which means more wildfires and also aggressive wildfires.”

The public is encouraged to monitor updates through the SaskAlert app and the SPSA website.

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by paNOW Staff

Wildfire costs climb into millions as Saskatchewan lifts fire ban

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