Daily Herald Staff
The Buhl Fire on the fringes of the Prince Albert National Park is now 30 kilometers away from Waskesiu according to a Parks Canada update on Tuesday.
According to the update there was no significant growth towards communities on July 21.
The fire is currently 30 kilometres from the Waskesiu townsite, eight kilometres from Ramsey Bay, 12 kilometres from Montreal Lake Cree Nation and 35 kilometres from Elk Ridge and 38 kilometers from McPhee Lake.
Parks Canada reissued a pre-evacuation alert for Prince Albert National Park on July 20, due to the Buhl Wildfire that has potential to cause emergency situations for the public, including deteriorating air quality and or visibility due to wildfire smoke. The alert was initially issued on June 13 and re-issued on July 20.
Prince Albert National Park closed theOverflow Campground area including the Overflow Campground access road and the Red Deer Trail between Highway 264 and 263, as well as the access road to Beartrap Helipad and Beartrap helipad on July 22.The area closures for the northern area of
Prince Albert National Park andthefire ban remainin effect.
According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency as of 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday there were 49 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those active fires, one is categorized as contained, 14 are not contained, 17 are ongoing assessments and 17 are listed as protecting values.
There are currently 11 communities under an evacuation order including the Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge, La Plonge Reserve, Northern Village of Beauval, Jans Bay, Patuanak/English River First Nation, Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Northern Village of Pinehouse, Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Canoe Narrows, Île-à-la-Crosse, Resort Subdivision of Cole Bay and Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake.
There are four active declarations of local emergency due to wildfire. These are in the Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge, Northern Village of Beauval, Resort Subdivision of Little Amyot Lake and Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay.
The SPSA reminds the public that it is important to be prepared should an evacuation alert or an evacuation order be issued for your community. An evacuation alert is to be prepared to leave on short notice while an evacuation order indicates that you are at risk and need to leave immediately using routes provided by officials.
Part of the preparation is being ready to leave, including keeping your vehicle fuelled, being set to evacuate livestock or pets if needed and checking in on neighbours who may need assistance.
There is a fire ban that is still in place due to the extreme fire risk. The ban encompasses the area north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River. The fire ban prohibits any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks in the designated boundary. This includes provincial parks, provincial recreation sites and the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District within those boundaries.
