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The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has lifted a fire ban for provincial parks and Crown lands, thanks to scattered rain and cooler temperatures.
The ban, which also included the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District (NSAD), was put in place on July 2 due to hot and dry temperatures blanketing the province.
However, Saskatchewan’s active wildfire count so far this year is over double the five-year average and could be the highest in the last decade, according to SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts.
“A fire ban is not predicated strictly on the number of fires. It has to do with the potential of starting unwanted fires, the issues of having to be able to manage fires and heavily weighted towards current weather conditions,” he said.
Some municipalities, rural municipalities and parks in the south may still have a fire ban in place where conditions are still extremely dry, Roberts said.
As of Monday morning, there are 161 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. So far this year, the province has seen 424 wildfires.
Roberts said this is more than in 2015, when wildfires caused thousands in northern Saskatchewan to evacuate their homes. He said those wildfires were much larger, whereas the current situation is a large number of smaller fires.
Joan Hrycyk, director of emergency and crisis support, said the SPSA is providing services to 84 evacuees due to the Lock fire, impacting Dillon and Michel Village. It’s also providing services to 12 evacuees from Whelan Bay due to the White fire; however, that evacuation order has now been lifted and they can start returning home.
Maurice Ratt is the emergency response coordinator for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB).
“So far, the wildfire situation has improved quite a bit. We had significant rainfall in the area, so we were able to start containing the majority of the fires and crews have been making good progress,” he said.
The community of Grandmother’s Bay voluntarily evacuated as a wildfire crept in only a kilometre away, but evacuees are heading home on Monday. Stanley Mission also had a fire about five kilometres away.
None of these wildfires are a threat to the communities anymore, Ratt said.
He encouraged band members to keep an eye on the LLRIB Emergency Response Facebook page.
“With any wildfire, it can change rapidly and we’re expecting some more warm weather this week, so we might see some heavy smoke again, some flare-ups.”
The SPSA has brought in local firefighters from across the province to help manage the wildfires, but none from outside of Saskatchewan.
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8 am |
| 17 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 22 KM/H |
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9 am |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 22 KM/H |
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10 am |
| 17 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 20 KM/H |
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11 am |
| 17 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 18 KM/H |
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12 pm |
| 19 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 14 KM/H
GUSTING TO 14 KM/H |
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1 pm |
| 21 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 14 KM/H
GUSTING TO 10 KM/H |
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2 pm |
| 22 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 13 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
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3 pm |
| 21 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 15 KM/H
GUSTING TO 14 KM/H |
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TODAY |
HIGH OF 22 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
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FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 23 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
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SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 17 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
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SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 26 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
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MONDAY |
HIGH OF 24 ℃
LOW OF 16 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
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TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 24 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
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WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 28 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
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THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 31 ℃
LOW OF 18 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
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QUEEN
HEADLONG
08:20 AM |
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ESCAPE THE FATE
FORGIVE ME
08:12 AM |
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SEETHER
FADE OUT
08:08 AM |
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HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD
HOLLYWOOD FOREVER
08:04 AM |
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PAPA ROACH
EVEN IF IT KILLS ME
08:00 AM |
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THE MONSTER INSIDE
PROMISES
07:57 AM |
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THE SCORE
FIGHTING FOR
07:55 AM |
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ZZ TOP
PLANET OF WOMEN
07:50 AM |
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THREE DAYS GRACE
NEVER ORDINARY
07:43 AM |
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BAD WOLVES
HANGING ON TO THUNDER
07:40 AM |
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