A wildfire burning in Prince Albert National Park started as a prescribed burn almost two weeks ago, but officials say there is no longer a risk on the fire’s south side.

Parks Canada provided an update to media about the status of the wildfire, named the Rabbit Fire after its proximity to Rabbit Creek.

During a conference call Thursday, it was confirmed that the fire originally began as a prescribed burn in the southwest corner of the park before the wind took over.

“Going back to May 4, fire management staff began preparations for a prescribed fire,” said park superintendent David Britten.

“We do prescribe fires for ecological reasons to restore rare fescue grasslands in that area, and have done a number of prescribed burns in previous years.”

The fires are conducted to thin the area of aspen stands and return it to its historical state, with open fescue grasslands. Those grasslands will create habitat for the Sturgeon River Plains Bison Herd, one of only a few free-roaming herds in Canada.

At the time, the weather conditions were within the prescribed limits, and crews began preparations for the burn. On May 6, crews were constructing control lines, strips of burned area used to contain a prescribed fire.

“A situation arose where we had un-forecasted high winds, and that caused the fire to spot outside the prescribed fire area,” Britten said.

“We did have a contingency plan in place, so we were able to call in national resources and a national incident management team to support the park in managing this.”

The leader of that incident management team is Dean MacDonald. He said, as of Thursday, the fire is burning an area of about 16,900 hectares. The fire is currently about 30 per cent contained, with containment lines established on the south and southwest perimeter, where the fire is burning along the border with the RMs of Shellbrook and Canwood.

Previously, the fire had jumped the park’s south boundary and started a handful of fires in the two RMs.

“Right now there is minimal to no risk on the south boundary, because we do have established control lines and personnel all along those boundaries, and the winds, temperatures and the fuels are in our favour right now,” MacDonald said.

“When the fire did hit the south boundary with those 60-kilometre winds that came from the north, we did have four spots that came across to the southeast.”

Two spots were put out right away, he said, while two more burnt an area of about 40 hectares outside the park.

On the southwest side, three spots were put out, two were contained and another fire spotted in a stand of spruce trees by the Sturgeon River.

The only things that have been damaged so far, MacDonald said, have been some fence lines. The national park is working with landowners to repair those fences and manage the situation so farmers can get to work in their fields.

Crews on the south side continue to patrol looking for hotspots, using support from helicopters with buckets of water to control that side of the fire.

With the south boundary contained, the focus now shifts to building containment lines on the northeast side of the fire, to prevent it from growing any closer to the Waskesiu town site and the main park infrastructure.

The team has lined up some nice lines that use existing trails, aspen stands and lakes to build a containment line to hold the fire to its current perimeter, according to MacDonald.

Slightly cooler temperatures and a little bit of time have helped the crews get a better handle on the fire.

“Everything was burning,” MacDonald said.

“Aspen was burning. It happens very rarely. Typically, an aspen stand will actually hold off fire. Under these significant wind conditions we’ve had, everything was burning at the same rate.”

Now, those aspen stands have more greenery as leaves have budded and grown. Greenery is also growing along the forest floor, slowing the spread of fire.

“It has given us a lot more opportunity to create a very defendable containment line.”

Right now, the fire is burning about 40 km southwest of Waskesiu. There is very little risk to the town. A total of 125 personnel are working on the fire, including 75 on the fire line and 50 on the incident management team. As firefighters hit the 14-day maximum, reinforcements are coming in from Ontario. Currently, the crew includes personnel from Parks Canada, as well as provincial support from Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario.

While the fire is not affecting operations on the main, east side of the park, a portion of Highway 240 where it intersects with Cookson Road remains closed. The west side of the park also remains closed.

A fire ban is in place in the national park.

For the second time in two days, an evacuation order issued for the Hamlet of Crutwell has been issued, only to be cancelled a few hours later.

The first evacuation order was sent out Monday afternoon, as nearby wildfire burning south of Holbein breached its east dozer guard, threatning the hamlet. That order was lifted in the early evening.

The process repeated itself Tuesday, with an evacuation order being issued at about 2 p.m., only to be lifted at 9 p.m.

The decision whether or not to evacuate lies with the individual municipality. The province provides advice and input to help local officials make their decision.

As of Tuesday night, the fire near Holbein, named the Rally fire, was still listed as not contained, and was burning an area of 2,105 hectares, or 21.05 square kilometres.

Mary McAuley has held a lot of different jobs in her life. But the latest might be the most impressive of them all.

McAuley is the latest lawyer called to the bench to serve as a provincial judge for Saskatchewan. The official swearing in took place in March. Friday, the long-serving Prince Albert defence lawyer was honoured by her peers , friends, family and some of the highest-ranking judges in the province during a second swearing in at the Prince Albert provincial courthouse.

“This is perhaps one of the most pleasant events to take place in provincial court,” said Judge Murray J. Hinds, the Associate Chief Judge of the Proivincial Court of Saskatchewan, who presided over the ceremony.

“It’s nice to see smiling faces (in what is) usually a place of anxiety.”

He then turned to the woman of the hour.

“The Honourable Judge Mary C.R. McAuley. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it, Judge McAuley?”

Hinds spoke about the role of the judge. To be appointed, someone must have the right knowledge, ability, hard work, integrity and temperament, he said. They must have also served as a lawyer for at least 10 years.

Those who are selected join the 48 permanent and 20 temporary judges serving 13 permanent and 61 circuit locations across the province.

The naming of McAuley to the bench “Continues that legacy” of quality judges, he said, adding that her “legal and personal background will certainly benefit our court.”

Hines also took the time to remind those in attendance that accepting such an appointment isn’t easy. While it’s a great honour and accomplishment, it comes with great sacrifice. Judges are restricted in what they can say and do, who they can hang out with, and how they can become involved in the community. It’s integral, he said, to maintain the independence of the court.

McAuley herself hails from Cumberland House, a small isolated community. She is proudly Métis, and speaks fluent Cree. She attended her late high school and graduated from L.P. Miller in Nipawin. She’s worked as a hairdresser and a waitress, before eventually earning a business degree and working for Cameco at Key Lake for 12 years. She then went back to school to get her law degree. She had wanted to be a psychologist, but an instructor told her she’d be a better lawyer. She worked at the Dumont Institute while attending classes at the University of Saskatchewan.

She worked for legal aid for a time before articling with the Crown. She then went back to legal aid, working Cree court.

In 2012, McAuley decided to start her own firm in Prince Albert. It grew from herself to a team of three lawyers, assistants and articling students. Since becoming a judge in March, one of those former articling students, lawyer Michelle Caron, has teamed up with Lisa Abbott to continue operating the firm.

“I’m proud someone else is carrying on that torch,” McAuley said.

McAuley, fellow judge Gerald Morin said, has always been highly motivated. He’s known her family for years.

“When she wanted to do thing, she made up her mind to do things,” he said.

“She’s had many achievements. This is about another step in her career.”

McAuley said she overcame a lot of challenges to get to where she is today. Growing up, to even graduate high school and get a good job was an accomplishment. Attending university was a foreign concept. When she graduated from law school, Cumberland House was “abuzz” with excitement.

She also faced racism, as well as loved ones who got in her way.

When she wanted to go to law school, her fiancée at the time tried to stop her.

He told her he was making the meat and potatoes. It was her job to make the gravy.

“I wanted to make the meat and potatoes too,” McAuley said.

“I learned to encourage myself. If I was going to stand alone, I was going to stand strong.”

The other judges in attendance also praised McAuley for her tenacity. Several said they were honoured to be in attendance to welcome her Friday.

Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal Honourable Chief Justice Robert G. Richards, talked about what McAuley’s appointment means in context of the Saskatchewan court system. Richards is the highest-ranking judge in the province. He spoke of Canada’s judiciary as being the envy of the world, free from incompetence, corruption or political interference. Still, he said, it’s a system that’s far from perfect.

He quoted former Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin on the importance of diversity, saying that a bench that represents the people it serves will better build and maintain their confidence.

“it is a great day for Saskatchewan,” Richards said. “That’s why we’re here. Our province, with our demographics, needs more Aboriginal judges.”

Richards stressed that his comments don’t take away from the McAuley’s accomplishments.

“She has a first rate reputation with judges and the community at large,” he said. “I like the sound of Judge McAuley very much.”

1. Ruch Fafard, a member of the La Ronge Branch of the Prince Albert Bar Association, also spoke about the importance for female Indigenous offenders to see someone who looks like them overseeing their trial.

“It’s so good to see another northerner on the bench,” Fafard said, adding that she’s known McAuley as “an exceptional defence lawyer.”

Fafard said in the few months McAuley has served as judge, she’s already seen the new judge speak to someone in court in Cree, and it made that court attendee feel much less anxious.

Following speeches from the dignitaries, McAuley addressed the overflowing court. If someone had told her when she was a child she would become a judge, she wouldn’t have believed them. She recounted a skip rope rhyme from her childhood about marrying a lawyer, a doctor or a chief. But now, as an adult, McAuley has a different mentality.

“I’ve learned it’s ok to dream,” she said.

She described herself in her first days as a lawyer as a small town Métis woman who knew no big names.

“I know some big names now,” she said.

McAuley credited her family with teaching her a lot about the world.

“My dad taught me integrity, hard work, honesty, have no debt and treat people well,” she said.

Still, it’s the negatives that have taught her the most.

McAuley finished by telling a famous story about a man traversing down a beach littered with dying starfishes. As he throws one after another back into the ocean, a second person comes up and asks why bother, you can’t save all of them. The man says, “no, but I saved that one.”

“We can’t change the world,” McAuley said.

“We can try, and if we make a small difference, we’ve done something. There is so much to learn. I promise to do my best.”

She surveyed the courtroom for a moment.

“I am very honoured.

“Thank you.”

Councillor Charlene Miller has been doing her part to keep the community clean for the last nine years. This year, she has a little help from some of her colleagues.

The annual Prince Albert pitch-in week gets underway Monday, and runs until May 12. Each year Miller organizes a week-long community cleanup of her ward. Last year, Ward 2 Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp joined the cause, and this year, Ward 3 Coun. Evert Botha is joining in as well.

“It’s a great opportunity for us as councillors to get involved and get into our neighbourhoods and assist with cleaning up the litter from the snow melt,” Lennox-Zepp said.

“I’d like to give accolades to Coun. Miller. She’s been doing this for many years in Ward 1, and Ward 2 butts up to Ward 1 quite a bit in the West Flat. I think it’s very valuable to get out in the community and try to beautify our neighbourhoods by getting rid of that litter from the snow melt.”

To assist with the cleanup, dumpsters will be placed at various locations, including Leon’s Furniture, Crop Production Services and Parkland Hall. This year, for the first time, rimless tires will be collected at Crop Production Services.

For Botha, the cleanup provides an opportunity for neighbours to pitch in and get to know each other better.

“This is about volunteers. We get to get our hands real dirty, this is a big part to making your community safer and cleaner, working with our neighbours and getting to know our neighbours,” he said.

“If we can help our neighbours with our properties, I think that’s what pitch-in week is all about.”

Botha said keeping the community clean is also an important step in crime prevention.

“We really see neighbours coming together, standing together and communicating more,” he said.

When we look at better design for communities, making sure they’re visually appealing makes it better, not just from a perception point of view, but if we have cleaner properties, cleaner yards, it makes it less of a nuisance to your neighbours or the community at large.”

It won’t just be the councillors and their ward residents working to clean up their communities. On May 9, city staff will head out downtown to do their part to clean up that neighbourhood.

“It’s lovely,” said Coun. Lennox-Zepp, whose ward includes the downtown area. “It’s nice to get outside, especially when the weather is nice, and pitch-in.“

Again, this year, several schools are also getting involved. Students from Wesmore, Queen Mary Ms. Michael’s, École Valois and Riverside will get involved. Miller creates little gift bags for the students. Those are ready to go and she’s eager to see the kid at work.

“It’s exciting to go with the kids and see what they do,” Miller said.

Miller said you can definitely tell the difference before and after the community clean up. After, lots of that garbage strewn across the road when the snow melts is gone and the city just looks better. She’s happy her fellow councillors are stepping up to help.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to have partners doing this with me,” she said.