PRINCE ALBERT — Wildfires in Saskatchewan have forced hundreds more people out of their homes, and officials are hoping for a bout of rain to contain the blazes.
Steve Roberts with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said Monday there are 2,800 evacuees in the province, up from 1,700 late last week.
Roberts told a virtual news conference more communities have issued evacuation notices, including La Loche, Île-à-la-Crosse and Cole Bay, where heavy smoke is affecting those with health issues.
"The fires have been a little more sedate and we've been able to make more progress because they haven't been extremely volatile," Roberts said. "The big solution would be significant rainfall in the vicinity of the fires themselves."
The province reported 52 active wildfires Monday, including 13 uncontained.
Roberts said crews from Australia, Mexico, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are providing extra assistance to help control the fires. Those crews are also replacing existing firefighters who need a break.
He said the fire near Beauval, 400 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, is a high priority.
The blaze in Prince Albert National Park has not posed a larger threat, he added. The agency is working with Parks Canada to fight that fire.
A fire ban for much of northern Saskatchewan remains in effect.
Meanwhile, parts of northern Manitoba saw scattered rainfall in recent days, but flames driven by hot, dry conditions over the weekend are encroaching on several communities.
Manitoba officials said Monday less than one millimetre of rain has recently fallen in fire areas.
If more doesn't come, fire activity will remain active in those areas over the coming days, they said.
The province is keeping an eye on the communities of Leaf Rapids, Snow Lake and Garden Hill First Nation, where blazes are in close proximity to those areas.
Officials said Leaf Rapids is surrounded by fires but that a fire guard was built up around the town and crews were ready to go should any of the fires reach the community.
Smoky conditions over the weekend hampered firefighting abilities in some areas by grounding aircraft, they added. Despite this, they said crews were still able to make progress on one of the blazes close to the city of Thompson, which is home to 13,000 people.
"Definitely the smoky conditions are impacting our ability to action from the air specifically. But the good thing, too, is that sometimes very smoky conditions also lessen fire behaviour, so we don't see the fires as active those days either," said Kristin Hayward, with the province's wildfire service.
"We have rain moving into the Thompson area hopefully (Monday) and into (Tuesday) so that should help to keep fire activity pretty low. We are not concerned for Thompson at this time."
There are currently roughly 13,000 people displaced across the province due to wildfires. Evacuees are staying in close to 2,500 rooms and 840 shelter beds are being used in Winnipeg.
There are 120 active wildfires burning in Manitoba.
-- By Jeremy Simes in Regina and Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
The Canadian Press
