If you are asked to evacuate, then evacuate.
That was the message from Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) vice-president of operations Steve Roberts when he spoke to reporters on Thursday about the wildfires burning across Northern Saskatchewan.
Roberts said they’ve occasionally had to evacuate firefighters when conditions became too dangerous. He’s hoping they won’t have to do that with civilians too.
“If you’ve been asked to evacuate (because) there’s a fire close, please heed that advice,” Roberts said 30-minute during a wildfire update Thursday afternoon. “We have a number of people (where) … we are going to evacuate, and we’ve advised them to evacuate. They have refused, and the issue becomes ‘will we have to do an emergency rescue? If the firefighting community says it’s too risky to be on site, then you should probably heed that advice, and think about leaving when they ask you to leave.”
As of Wednesday, Saskatchewan has 25 active wildfires, for a year-to-date total of 244. The five-year average for this time is 138.
Roberts said weather continues to be a problem.
“We have not had significant rain in the areas that the fires are active,” Roberts said. “We had a little bit in the far north … and even a small amount of rain has affected and moderated some of that fire behavior.
“Again, as we’ve said earlier, rain will be a big turning point for these fires, but until then, we’re dug in doing the best we can to protect people and values in Saskatchewan.”
Roberts said even a short rainfall of 3-5 mm can provide firefighters with a much-needed reprieve.
“It’s not actually changing the amount of work we have to do,” Roberts said. “It’s basically giving us a little bit of fire behavior break so we can put some measures in place, but they’re not long-term and lasting. Even the distance between a 40 km wind and 20 drastically changes some of the behavior we saw.”
The Shoe Fire continues to be the largest fire in Saskatchewan. Roberts said it’s sitting at around 471,000 hectares, and has an impact on Highways 106, 120, 692,912, and 913. During his wildfire update, Roberts said it has also had an impact on Hwy 165.
The Jaysmith Fire northeast of Missinippi is at 136,00 hectares, and is on both sides of Hwy 2. The community of Brabant is less than 20 km away. Other infrastructure in the area includes cabins, lodges, and the Golden Mine Site.
The Pisew Fire west of La Ronge is estimated at around 141,000 hectares. The fire has forced the evacuation of Besnard Lake, Hall Lake, Clam Lake, Wadin Bay, Lac La Ronge, Air Ronge, and La Ronge. According to the SPSA, the fire has crossed Hwy 165.
The Wolf Fire that started west of Denare Beach is estimated at 130,000 hectares, and forced the evacuation of Jan Lake, Denare Beach, Creighton, and the McIlveena Mine Site.
The Pelican2 Fire near Pelican Narrows is listed as around 30,400 hectares. It is less than 20 km from Pelican Narrows, according to the SPSA website.
Roberts said the fires are impacting power and communications infrastructure. He said they’re working with SaskPower and SaskTel to make repairs as soon as possible.
As of Thursday, Roberts said 267 values have been lost to the fire, however the SPSA is still assessing the total. Roberts said it could actually be as high as 400.
More than 30 communities have full or partial evacuations. There are between 10,000 and 15,000 residents currently evacuated.
