Ryan Kiedrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The World-Spectator
After much of the area was pummelled with one last wintery blast on April 22, the month of May started with very dry conditions across much of the province.
“At this time we are anticipating areas where abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions are expected, however, the overall picture for Saskatchewan indicates better conditions than we saw in 2024,” said Marlo Pritchard, President and Fire Commissioner with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. “Climatology reports suggests that the southern half of Saskatchewan will experience an early start to the thunderstorm season—basically starting now—and the northern half of the province will experience a normal start to the season beginning mid to late May.”
With all the warm days since the last snow event, spring run-off is a distant memory.
“We don’t expect any significant flooding risk in the province this year, however there’s always the risk or instances where there’s some localized out of channel flows where runoff is a bit higher,” said Shawn Jaques, Water Security Agency president. “Last fall, we saw warmer temperatures ahead of the snowfall, which created some insulation and reduced the depth and extent of the frost in the soil. This reduced frost and drier than normal soil from last fall is allowing more of the water to enter the soil during the spring thaw.”
“Southeast and east-central Saskatchewan generally saw a quicker warm-up, but despite above normal snow pack, no significant runoff was observed likely due to the combination of high soil infiltration as observed elsewhere in the province,” he continued.
With hot, dry weather present, many RMs have responded with fire bans to prevent wildfires.
So far this year, there have been 119 wildfires, with 23 listed as currently active. With early forecasting predicting the coming summer months to be hotter than usual, Pritchard wanted to remind people about fire safety.
“About half of the wildfires in Saskatchewan in any given year are started by humans, with lightning being the cause of the remainder,” he said. “In the early part of spring, we typically do not experience lightning, so fires that start now are likely to be human-caused. As a result I urge everyone to take extreme precautions during the spring and early summer months. The SPSA will be putting out preventative messaging on social media and radio to remind everyone of the risk associated with human-caused fires. These wildfires are preventable. Don’t let your fire go wild.”
Being more mindful of actions outdoors can go a long way in fire prevention.
“Simple actions like not driving a vehicle on dry grass, drowning campfires until the embers are cool, and talking to young children about fire safety can help reduce the number of fires in Saskatchewan,” Pritchard said. “And also as a reminder, please be aware of any fire bans.”
The recent grassfire on the Cowessess First Nation is thought to have been started by a vehicle driving in a pasture with its hot muffler contacting high grass. Fuelled further by high winds and 30ºC temperatures, the May 4 grass fire burned approximately 300 to 600 acres of land. While some property damage was reported, thankfully no homes were lost. Firefighters from the Kahkewistahâw, Cowessess, and Grenfell fire departments responded to the blaze. A fire ban was in effect at the time on Cowessess, placed on April 29.
The saskpublicsafety.ca website contains up-to-date information, including which municipalities currently have a fire ban and active wildfires across Saskatchewan.
“The SPSA encourages property owners to take the time early this season to fire-smart their home and yard,” Pritchard said. “Again, there are simple cost-free tasks such as pruning dead trees and branches in your yard, keeping your yard free of debris, especially materials that are easily combustible such as dead leaves.”
Another reminder Pritchard stressed was the importance of people having enough resources to sustain themselves for up to 72 hours in the event of an emergency.
“It is critical for everyone to have an emergency plan and complete and create an emergency kit,” he said, adding that if anyone spots a wildfire or grassfire, immediately call 911.
