LIVE @ 1:30: Saskatchewan to provide update on wildfires, evacuations
Officials from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) are set to provide an update on firefighting efforts in the province's north.
Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim McLeod is expected to answer questions alongside fire officials. Those remarks will be streamed live at the top of this article at 1:30 p.m.
As of Wednesday morning, there are 49 active wildfires throughout the province – with only seven listed as contained.
One of the uncontained blazes, the Buhl Fire, covers more than 33,000 hectares, 6,200 of which are within Prince Albert National Park.
As of Tuesday evening, the fire was 31 kilometres from the townsite of Waskesiu. When a pre-evacuation alert was issued on Sunday, the fire was 40 kilometres from the community.
According to officials with Parks Canada, 29 personnel, three helicopters and other heavy equipment has been mobilized to contain the fire.
There are currently eight active evacuations across the north. They include the resort subdivision of Lac La Plonge, the La Plonge Indian Reserve, Beauval, Jans Bay, Patuanak/English River First Nation as well as priority individuals from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Pinehouse, Île-à-la-Crosse and Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Cole Bay/Canoe Narrows.
A fire ban remains in effect for the area north of Saskatchewan's provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River.
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