PRINCE ALBERT — The wildfire situation in Saskatchewan continues to improve, to the point that some resources supporting the firefighting efforts are being released from duty.
At a news conference in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said that in Saskatchewan as of Wednesday they have 49 active wildfires. That is 467 so far this year, and above the five-year average of 385.
Only eight of those fires are not yet contained, according to the SPSA. However, Roberts said a large number of these fires have been contained in the short period over the last week and a half.
Among the fires listed as contained are the Buhl fire by Prince Albert National Park, the Ditch Fire by Weyakwin, the Kisew Fire beside La Ronge, the Shoe Fire in the Lower Fishing Lakes area, the Wolf and the Sturgeon Fires by Denare Beach, and the Hawk Fire by Hall Lake.
The provincial fire ban has been removed and all closures of provincial highways have been removed as well. Currently there are no communities evacuated.
External resources returning home
Roberts said the situation improvement “has led to us making some decisions about releasing external resources.”
He said support from their Australian partners has returned home. The aircraft from Quebec, two 415 water bombers, have also returned home.
Roberts said they are also working on “releasing the support we have received from the Canadian Armed Forces as of this morning.”
Lt.-Col. Mark Litzenberger, Land Task Force commander, said Land Task Force “has proudly supported Saskatchewan authorities in combating Type 3 wildfires. This included soldiers from various regular force and reserve force units based across Western Canada.”
He said over the past four weeks, 300 Canadian Army soldiers have been "continuously engaged" in firefighting efforts across the Weyakwin, Green Lake and La Loche areas. Additionally, the Air Task Force deployed three Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopters for air mobility and reconnaissance operations.
“The support from the Canadian Armed Forces enhances local resources through unique capabilities, aiming to stabilize the situation and reassure residents in the affected areas. Once the situation improves, our soldiers and aviators return home to prepare for their next mission. Thank you.”
As for when the military will leave the province, they have redeployed 200 Type 3 firefighters as of today — around 100 that came from Shilo, Man., and another 100 from Edmonton. About 140 remain right now, and the last of their contingent will redeploy this Friday, leaving around six or seven in the morning.
Addressing concerns
During the news conference, Roberts was asked about concerns raised by NDP Leader Carla Beck and Denare Beach residents earlier this week that evacuees have slipped through the cracks and waited for weeks for aid. They also questioned why other communities received specialized firefighting support immediately, while Denare Beach did not.
Roberts reaffirmed that “external support and local support were provided to Denare Beach.”
“So, for example, crews from Prince Edward Island, Type 2 crews and Type 1 crews from across the province were in Denare Beach at the time the fire grew in intensity and entered the community. In addition, multiple structural fire departments had been brought in and were supporting the Denare Beach Fire Department in protecting that community. That is common on all our fires because of the number, because of the priorities. So even though it was happening on other fires, it was also happening in Denare Beach.”
He was also asked about claims of water bombers being left on the ground and not fighting the fire. Roberts said that there “were water bombers working those fires in the Denare Beach area as well. We have records of those.
“There were two in repair, as we said, but as they were under repair, we had brought in additional aircraft from Alaska, from British Columbia and Quebec to fill that void and respond to wildfires. So our capacity was not diminished.”
Looking ahead
As for the recent heat wave in the province and whether there was a concern that fire activity could ramp up again, Roberts said they will “continue to monitor and we will utilize our provincial resources and external resources as they're required.”
When asked what grade he would give his organization in the response, Roberts said he had “nothing but excellent recommendations for our crews.”
“There were no fatalities, even though we had extremely aggressive fire behaviour, many people in the fire line, many aircraft in the air. In addition, we had severe losses at Denare Beach, but many communities were protected from any losses.”
Roberts does not anticipate needing to call them back this fire season, based on the current situation. He said they are retaining some other out-of-province resources and are continuing to rely on local Type 3 firefighters to meet the needs as they approach the fall.
