NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN — Rain has fallen on the wildfires in Saskatchewan in the last 24 hours, which has opened a window of opportunity for firefighters.
In Sunday’s daily wildfire briefing by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Marlo Pritchard, President and Fire Commissioner, said all of the north fires have seen some rain over the last 24 hours.
“It was very much needed … but we cannot slow down,” he said.
He said firefighters can take advantage of the small window of opportunity to go on the offensive and take the fight to the fires.
He added they have hired type 3 firefighters to assist, and have talked to community leaders who have type 3 assets trained and qualified to be ready for the call. Camps are being set up to take them on, said Pritchard.
Type 3 crews are made up of qualified firefighters hired on an emergency basis, according to the SPSA. They are used to support type 2 and type 1 firefighters and are normally used on a fire line that is under control, in the mop-up stage, or low in complexity and expected fire behaviour.
Bryan Chartrand, Executive Director, Land Operations, agreed more rain is needed, but what has fallen is allowing SPSA to assess conditions and come up with new strategies, always keeping an eye on the weather forecast.
There are no drastic changes in the forecast, he said, pointing to Candle Lake as a community that they should be able to keep safe as long as the wind doesn’t change.
Pritchard and Chartrand also said assessment of damages has already begun and verification teams will be heading out to the communities affected to evaluate further, which is also a part of helping local communities decide if evacuees should return, whether they've been evacuated because of smoke or fire.
It is anticipated that there have been about 400 values lost, including residences and lodges, boats, trailers and more. About 290 have been confirmed.
They also said conversations with all partners are ongoing daily, including those that will help decide when resources that have come in from out-of-province can be released as wildfires in other provinces or states continue to grow.
