Latest news with #Beauval
CBC
5 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire outside of Beauval goes from bad to worse
The Muskeg fire near Beauval, Sask., has grown to more than 200,000 hectares. Meanwhile, national forecasts say fire conditions across the country are set to get even worse in August.
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Volunteer crews from across Sask. flock to Beauval to fight fires
Volunteer firefighters from across Saskatchewan have been working in Beauval and other communities in the province's north to help save them from ongoing wildfires. Volunteer crews and equipment from Humboldt, Davidson and Warman, alongside a host of other communities, have been helping with controlled burns, patrolling for spot fires and setting up sprinkler systems in the village, which is about 350 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon and is under a full evacuation order. "You immediately just thought, 'they need help,'" said Corey Dean, the chief of the fire department in the south-central Saskatchewan town of Davidson. "We have the training and we have the resources, we have extra equipment. We have a large enough department. It was a decision that we made upon ourselves." Dean was in Beauval from July 2 to July 13 fighting fires. He and his crew helped save every house in the community as the fires edged up against the town, he said. "It's literally hell on earth when the fire comes into town. There's no other way to describe it," he said. "It quickly turned from daylight to nighttime as smoke covered the sun. It got really dark, really smoky, and really hot." It was "easily the most intense and humbling experience of my life as a firefighter," said Dean. His Beauval deployment was his second this season, having spent six days in Weyakwin — about 150 kilometres southeast of Beauval — setting up a controlled burn earlier in the summer to protect the Ramsey Bay Resort. His team, all of whom have other full-time careers, are now taking a breather, he said. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has been spearheading the effort to recruit local firefighters, putting out a call through the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs to help co-ordinate resources. Mike Kwasnica, the president of the fire chiefs' association, said local fire crews, who have more experience with structure fires, are being called in to let provincial fire crews focus on wildland firefighting. "This season has been extraordinarily busy like we've never seen before," said Kwasnica, who is also the chief of the Humboldt Fire Department. "To do a provincial call-out like this is very rare." 'That's what we do' Kwasnica sent two of his firefighters to Beauval to complement another department that could only send a fire truck. Earlier this summer, he also did a 12-day deployment fighting fires in Weyakwin and La Ronge, to the north. Like Dean's crews, Kwasnica's firefighters also have other full-time jobs, which he said makes co-ordination difficult. "I think a lot of the municipality fire departments are starting to get tired and worn out," he said. "It's just a matter of trying to co-ordinate peoples' holidays, their time off work, because … all these firefighters that we have that are going up all have other jobs." They face long, hot and uncomfortable days, he said. "But we're hoping that it makes a difference. And I know that in the past, and I'll speak for Humboldt, that when we needed help from the province, everybody came to our assistance," said Kwasnica. "For us, that's what we do." The Saskatchewan government has also had help from crews and the use of equipment from other provinces for weeks. Last week, two airplanes and 100 wildfire personnel came from Quebec, and 40 firefighters came from Australia. The public safety agency said another 40 firefighters from Mexico will be arriving in the next few days. Steve Roberts, the agency's vice-president of operations, said Wednesday he didn't have an exact number for how many fire departments currently have resources and crew members in Beauval, but that his agency is ready to co-ordinate more support. "Should they need more or need replacement, those will be addressed through our normal process for getting more resources to those scenes," he said. When asked about the growing numbers of international crews coming into the province, Roberts disputed the argument that the province isn't putting enough resources into local crews. "We have actually trained thousands of local community members to assist us," he said. Training and awareness programs are well underway, but "the training is not the barrier," he said. "It's getting individuals to come forward, identify themselves and be hired to assist in the efforts." The safety agency said as of Wednesday night, there were 48 active wildfires in the province, 10 of which are not contained. So far this year, there have been 372 fires in the province, well above the five-year average of 273 for this date.
CBC
15-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfires lead to evacuations in 8 northern Sask. communities
Wildfires have flared up again this month, leading to the evacuations of eight communities in northern Saskatchewan. The most recent is the northern hamlet of Patuanak, as well as around Beauval and Montreal Lake Cree Nation.
CBC
14-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Beauval nearly surrounded as massive Muskeg fire grows
The mayor of Beauval, Sask., says the village is nearly surrounded by wildfire, as the massive Muskeg fire continues to burn out of control on three sides of the northern community. "This fire is all around La Plonge Lake and all the way into Beauval," Mayor Rick Laliberte said on Saturday. "It's not in control. We're defending Beauval and all the properties." Poor internet connection? CBC Lite is our low-bandwidth website. Laliberte said multiple instances of lightning have caused wildfires across the region, including at South Bay, Dore Lake and near the community of Jans Bay. "Well, those fires all became one. This is now Muskeg fire, and it goes all the way up to Lac Île-à-la-Crosse and towards Patuanak," he said. Laliberte said the community is now surrounded, with flare-ups still occurring in the forest nearby. "We're not knocking down this fire," he said. "And rain is the only way that we can beat it." Laliberte said that conditions remain dangerous and unpredictable, especially with shifting winds. "This is a relentless wind that we've been having and it's been changing direction. The fire moves east, the fire moves north, the fire moves south. It's just a moving fire. And that's how these fires all join." The fire came close to Beauval last week, prompting a mandatory evacuation and a massive effort to protect the community. "We woke up a giant somehow. That wind shifted at the right time to attack us and almost caught us off guard," Laliberte said. Laliberte said hotspots continue to flare up in areas around the village, and firefighters from Quebec have been attacking the fire, working alongside bulldozer crews and helicopters dropping buckets of water from the air. "It was a monster that came through, and it's tinder dry out there," he said. As of Sunday afternoon, no homes had been lost in the community. Laliberte credited the work of firefighters and outside support for saving homes. As of Sunday at 4:00 p.m CST, there were 57 wildfires burning across the province, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. Just four were contained. News from across Saskatchewan for Friday, July 11, 2025. Firefighters in the northern village of Beauval are trying to hold off a fast-moving fire. A woman from Standing Buffalo First Nation has ended her 22 day hunger strike in front of the Regina landfill. A Regina man who has been living in his vehicle since January is one of the many voices calling for vacant housing units to be opened for those who need it. Current evacuation orders. Interactive Sask. active fire map. Fire danger map. Fire bans. Environment and Climate Change Canada weather alerts. Sask. Highway Hotline. Smoke forecast. Air quality. Tracking wildfires across Canada.
CTV News
13-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘Very tough': Northern Sask. evacuees adapt to city life as wildfires threaten their communities
Allison Bamford has the latest on the threat of wildfires a community is Saskatchewan is facing. Two days ago, Wendy Eldridge didn't know if she would have a community to go back to. Flames breached the northern Saskatchewan village of Beauval on Thursday night, shortly after the last bus of evacuees left. A concession stand and vehicle burned, but the rest of the community was spared. As of Saturday afternoon, flames still threatened the village on several fronts, officials said. A fire burning to the south and hot spots to the north and west pose risks. 'It's very stressful,' Eldridge said. When she learned of Thursday's imminent threat, Eldridge instructed her daughter to grab important documents from their house and take as many photos as possible in case everything went up in flames. 'It was right on people's doorsteps,' she said.'It was heart-wrenching to watch and see on social media.' Sask fires Community liaison Wendy Eldridge helps Saskatoon evacuees. Eldridge is serving as one of the community liaisons during the evacuation. She's busy coordinating activities for the evacuees staying in Saskatoon hotels, trying to make the tough situation feel as normal as possible — especially for those who've never been in the city before. 'It's very trying on a lot of our community members. They're not used to being away from home for this length of time,' she said. By helping others, she says she's also keeping her own mind off the wildfires. 'Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a worker bee,' she said, adding that several others have stepped in to help as well. Beauval and neighbouring communities remain under a state of emergency that will last at least another week, which means evacuees won't be able to return home until July 18 at the earliest. The evacuation order could be extended, depending on advice from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, said Beauval Mayor Rick Laliberte. 'The fire is not out. It's not controlled by any means,' Laliberte told CTV News.'This is a defensive fight, but it's not putting out the fire. That's going to take rain — it's going to take a lot of rain to do that.' Helicopters continue to fly overhead, and firefighters are putting out hotspots in the forest. Sask fires Fire crews continue putting out hot spots in and around Beauval, Sask. Less than 10 kilometres west of Beauval, a fire is threatening the community of Jans Bay, forcing more highway closures. About 100 kilometres north, priority residents had to be airlifted out of Patuanak after flames forced the closure of the only road into the community. 'We're surrounded by fires — literally 300 degrees around Beauval,' Laliberte said. The area received a bit of rain on Saturday, which the mayor said is offering hope. Crews are watching both the forecast and wind direction closely. If winds shift from the north, as expected, Laliberte said the fire could flare up again.
