Latest news with #MarloPritchard
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Sask.'s 4 major wildfires not growing in size, $1.8M distributed to affected communities, SPSA says
Volunteer firefighters from Davidson, Sask., load up their truck at the Provincial Wildfire Center in Prince Albert, Sask., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The fire fighters are on their way to Weyakwin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's (SPSA) vice president of operations Steve Roberts says that none of the four major wildfires currently burning in Saskatchewan are growing in size or threatening new communities. During an update Wednesday afternoon, Roberts said that thanks to ideal weather conditions, crews have continued to gain ground on fires, a trend that has lasted more than a week. The four major fires are the Pisew fire near La Ronge, the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin, the Shoe fire east of Candle Lake and the Wolf fire near Creighton, a community that remains evacuated. 'We continue to do those efforts on the ground to secure those areas that is including those communities that have not yet returned,' Roberts said. Communities that remain evacuated as of Wednesday are Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay and priority individuals in Cumberland House. 'Our staff are working with community leaders to pass on information on when the situation has been moderated to aid them in making decisions about repatriation,' Roberts said. As of 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, 17 wildfires were burning in Saskatchewan, four are listed as not contained, according to the SPSA's website. SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said the priority remains ensuring financial support is received by evacuees. 'We are continuing to send either retroactive food security support, such as payment for groceries to those that have registered with the SPSA,' Pritchard said, adding that eligible residents must call 1-855-559-5502 to confirm registration or to get assistance in registering as an evacuee. '[That is] so we can get those retroactive payments out which could be up to $200 per household per day,' he said. Pritchard also said the SPSA has identified all eligible communities whose residents will receive $500 in emergency funding that was announced by the Government of Saskatchewan. 'Some of those communities have indicated that they will administer payments themselves and other communities are requesting assistance from us,' he said. Every evacuee who was 18 or older as of June 20 are eligible for the $500 payment. 'I can announce that as of today there has been approximately $1.8 million moved to communities to start distributing to their community members,' Pritchard said.
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
LIVE @ 1:30: Sask. to provide wildfire update following week of repatriation, strong fire response
Saskatchewan provides wildfire update after week of repatriation, strong fire response. Watch LIVE here. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) will provide an update regarding its wildfire response at 1:30 Monday afternoon, following a positive week that saw many evacuees repatriated and crews gain ground on multiple fires. According to the SPSA's website, 13 wildfires are burning across the province Monday morning. Five are considered not contained. The update can be watched live at the top of this article. The SPSA did not hold any updates over the weekend, however on Friday SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said that all but five evacuation events had ended and more than 10,000 people were being repatriated. The province said it will be working to prioritize getting a $500 payment to all evacuees 18 and older. Pritchard also said that a backlog of people calling the province for help had been addressed, adding that evacuees who call the province for assistance would now be taken care of immediately or within a day. While a provincial fire ban remains in effect, the province also announced that a ban on ATV and UTV vehicles lifted Friday at 5 p.m. The province continues to encourage the public to come forward with information regarding intentionally started wildfires. On Friday the SPSA said it has determined that 30 wildfires have been intentionally set this year. That includes the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin where RCMP have laid two arson charges. 'We ask for public assistance if they know anything of any of those intentional acts that were conducted. If you know anything, please call Crime Stoppers or your local police jurisdiction,' Pritchard said on Friday. The SPSA also confirmed on Friday that approximately 400 values have been lost to the fires, adding that work is underway to determine more details. Saskatchewan remains under a state of emergency that will stay in effect until June 29, with the province able to extend it at that time if needed. More to come…
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Sask. to provide wildfire update following week of repatriation, strong fire response
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) will provide an update regarding its wildfire response at 1:30 Monday afternoon, following a positive week that saw many evacuees repatriated and crews gain ground on multiple fires. According to the SPSA's website, 13 wildfires are burning across the province Monday morning. Five are considered not contained. The SPSA did not hold any updates over the weekend, however on Friday SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said that all but five evacuation events had ended and more than 10,000 people were being repatriated. The province said it will be working to prioritize getting a $500 payment to all evacuees 18 and older. Pritchard also said that a backlog of people calling the province for help had been addressed, adding that evacuees who call the province for assistance would now be taken care of immediately or within a day. While a provincial fire ban remains in effect, the province also announced that a ban on ATV and UTV vehicles lifted Friday at 5 p.m. The province continues to encourage the public to come forward with information regarding intentionally started wildfires. On Friday the SPSA said it has determined that 30 wildfires have been intentionally set this year. That includes the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin where RCMP have laid two arson charges. 'We ask for public assistance if they know anything of any of those intentional acts that were conducted. If you know anything, please call Crime Stoppers or your local police jurisdiction,' Pritchard said on Friday. The SPSA also confirmed on Friday that approximately 400 values have been lost to the fires, adding that work is underway to determine more details. Saskatchewan remains under a state of emergency that will stay in effect until June 29, with the province able to extend it at that time if needed. More to come…
CTV News
11-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Sask. encouraging residents to come forward with information regarding intentionally set wildfires
An orange-coloured haze, resulting from a nearby wildfire, is seen on a helipad in La Ronge, Sask., in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, *MANDATORY CREDIT* Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) president Marlo Pritchard says investigators have determined that 80 wildfires in the province this year were started by humans, with approximately 30 of those set intentionally. Pritchard says the SPSA and police are asking for the public's assistance to help identify individuals that have intentionally set wildfires. 'Of those [intentionally set fires] we have had four in the Prince Albert area in the past number of days and so again we would ask members of the public to call your local police service or Crime Stoppers,' he said. RCMP have already laid two arson charges, including against those believed responsible for starting the Ditch02 fire in the Weyakwin area that forced multiple evacuations. Pritchard says the SPSA can confirm 290 structures have been lost to the fires, with the possibility of that number climbing to 400 once more investigations are done. The SPSA also revised its provincial fire ban on Tuesday at 5 p.m. According to Pritchard, the provincial ban now only applies to the Northern Provincial Forest up to the Churchill River. Minimal to no fire growth Favourable weather conditions including rainfall has allowed firefighters to more directly attack flames over the past few days. That is also allowing some evacuees to return home. 'We are turning a corner, we are seeing that the fire activity has been relatively stable over the past few days. There has not been any significant growth and we've also seen and been informed that there is numerous communities either preparing for or have repatriated back to their communities,' Pritchard said. According to Pritchard, Birch Portage evacuees returned home June 9 and Little Bear Lake, Moosehorn and Timber Bay evacuees are returning home on Wednesday. Meanwhile, residents of Hall Lake, Brabant Lake, Nemeiben Lake, Sucker River, Wadin Bay, English Bay, Sikachu, Clam Crossing, Lac la Ronge Indian Band, La Ronge, Air Ronge, Napatak, Eagle Point, Lamp Lake, Rabbit Creek, Potato Lake and priority one and two individuals in Stanley Mission are all expected to return home in the next day or so, according to Pritchard. 'As the repatriation efforts continue, we will work with community leaders to support those that are being supported by SPSA to safely return to their communities in the coming days,' he said. Pritchard says as of Wednesday, there is still approximately 10,000 or more people still evacuated. The SPSA says there are 23 active wildfires in Saskatchewan on Wednesday. Six are listed as not contained and two with fire crews protecting values and property. The Shoe fire remains the largest in the province at approximately 550,000 hectares, according to the SPSA. The fire is one of the six still considered not contained but the SPSA says it has not significantly grown over the past few days. Crews remain focused on finding hot spots within the fire's perimeter and continuing to be stationed on the fire's west end to protect nearby communities. The Pisew fire near La Ronge has also not significantly grown since the area received about 22 millimetres of rain over the weekend. That is allowing about 7,000 evacuees to return home in the coming days. According to the SPSA the Pisew fire is at 181,000 hectares on Wednesday. More information can be found here.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
WATCH LIVE: Sask. gives wildfire update after weekend rain slows fire progression
Sask. Public Safety Agency officials provide an update on the province's wildfire response. Watch LIVE here. This content is not currently available for viewing in your browser. For the best video experience, we recommend using a supported browser for your platform. Please visit our FAQ for more info. [3001/6008] After a weekend that saw rainfall slow progression of some wildfires burning in northern parts of the province, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) will provide another update at 1:30 Monday afternoon. The SPSA's news conference can be watched live at the top of this article. About 22 millimetres of rain fell on parts of the Shoe fire, which is Saskatchewan's largest wildfire at close to 500,000 hectares, according to the SPSA. On Sunday, SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said the recent moisture gives crews an opportunity to attack fires more directly. 'The rain was very much appreciated and needed. But we cannot slowdown and we're not going to slow down,' he said. As of Monday, the SPSA's website says there are 25 active wildfires in the province. Seven are considered not contained and two more are still forcing crews to focus their attention to protecting structures. There are still 18 evacuation incidents in effect Monday. However, on Sunday Pritchard confirmed that some residents of the Weyakwin area where the Ditch02 fire is burning have been allowed to return. As many as 15,000 residents have been forced to evacuate since the start of Saskatchewan's wildfire season. More to come… With files from David Prisciak
