Provincial fire ban lifted as rain eases wildfire threat in northern Sask.
The Ditch, Shoe, and Wolf fires — three of the largest in the province this year — are now contained, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
Widespread precipitation in the last few days brought five to 20 millimetres of rain, giving respite to firefighters and helping ease the wildfires.
"That has increased our ability to contain these fires and accomplish more and has also reduced the risk of these fires to local communities and infrastructure," SPSA vice president of operations Steve Roberts said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
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Roberts said this year's wildfire season in Saskatchewan has been one of the worst on record, at one point forcing 38 communities to evacuate while scorching huge parts of the province's northern forest. It has also seen the most loss of homes and other structures in the province on record.
Roberts said there were no highway closures due to wildfires as of 2 p.m. CST Thursday, although smoky conditions persisted in some areas.
SPSA has also released some of the resources it was getting from elsewhere, including air tankers and helicopters from Quebec and crews from Australia, but extended the stay of 300 Canadian Armed Forces members who are providing Type 3 firefighter services, helping with clean-ups.
Workers from Quebec, Parks Canada, Ontario, Yukon, Mexico and North Dakota also still remain in the province.
Evacuations and clean up
Evacuations have been lifted in the resort subdivision of Lac La Plonge, Île-à-la-Crosse, Canoe Lake and Canoe Narrows. However, 1,100 people are still away from their homes.
Some communities remain under evacuation orders, including the Northern Village of Pinehouse, La Plonge Reserve, the Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay, Patuanak and English River First Nation. Some people from the Northern Village of Beauval — people with chronic conditions, the elderly or those who need specialized care — are also still displaced.
The largest structural losses so far were in Denare Beach and East Trout Lake. SPSA said a resiliency centre set up in Denare Beach is helping people who lost homes. The centre has people from SGI, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Canadian Red Cross and Social Services. SPSA said it has supported about 500 people.
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Contractors are still doing cleanup and debris removal at Denare Beach.
As of 2 p.m. CST Thursday, there were 75 active wildfires in the province. There have been 466 fires to date this year; compared to 476 by the same time last year. The five-year to-date average is 372 fires.
Provincial fire ban lifted
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says the provincial fire ban was lifted at 11 p.m. CST Wednesday due to improved conditions.
SPSA said local restrictions may still apply, as provincial parks and municipalities can have their own fire bans. People are asked to check the SaskParks site or the SPSA interactive fire-ban map for location-specific rules.
This article, written by Aishwarya Dudha, was originally published for CBC News.
Thumbnail image credit to Cory Dean via CBC News.