Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency(SPSA) has issued a provincial fire ban for crown lands and provincial parks, provincial recreational sites and the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District effective from noon July 11.
The ban covers any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks, and also includes all land within 4.5 km of the provincial forest boundary.
SPSA Vice-Presidebt of Operations Steve Roberts said they issued the ban because of the dry conditions, high fire activity and high fire risk that covers most of Saskatchewan.
“We are making this decision to implement a fire ban to protect lives, communities, major infrastructure and resources from wildfire,” Roberts said. “We are asking the public to take extreme caution to prevent wildfires during this time. This includes being cautious using all-terrain vehicles and to report a fire if they see a fire.”
“Even though we have had a very wet June period here, the conditions in the forest at this time are extremely volatile, extremely dry, and the risk of ignition is high,” Roberts added. “With all of our crews being actively engaged on the 75 wildfires at this time, we really do not have additional capacity to take on unwanted fires that may start due to carelessness or negligence, so we’ve taken this extra step as a precaution.”
The SPSA encourages all other municipalities, rural municipalities and communities to examine the fire risk in their area and to consider implementing consistent fire bans to prevent unwanted human caused wildfires. In Saskatchewan, nearly half if the wildfires in the Province are caused by human activity and usually starts in accessible areas near communities and roads.
“The Fire ban will remain in effect until the situation and the weather changes, either we get a significant precipitation or cooling effect or we are able to mitigate a number of the existing wildfires,” Roberts added during a media briefing Thursday afternoon.
Residents should be cautions and avoid activities that can cause fire as well.
To date Saskatchewan has had 307 wildfires, which is 91 above the five-year average of 211.
Anyone who spots a wildfire can call 1-800-667-9660, dial 9-1-1 or contact theirclosest SPSA Forest Protection Area office.
People can find the latest fire risk maps, fire prevention tips and an interactive fire ban map at saskpublicsafety.ca.
