Latest news with #MuskegFire
CBC
3 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
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
09-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
‘We're okay': Sask. wildfire evacuee hopeful community will be spared from flames
As wildfires continue to force hundreds from their homes in northwestern Saskatchewan, hot, dry conditions and shifting winds are fueling concerns over the fires threatening the village of Beauval. Mary Bottrell was camping with her sisters about four hours from home when she heard Beauval was being evacuated. There was no time to go back and grab her things. 'Now we can't go home, we can't get back in, the roads are closed,' Bottrell said in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday. She and her sisters are staying in Saskatoon until they can return home. Bottrell said she worries for her sons who are still in Beauval, but she's hopeful the fire won't reach the community. 'There's a lot of firefighters there that came in from all over to help, so we're okay, I think,' she said. Barb Loucks, another Beauval resident, said she left everything behind. 'If we lose it, we lose it. We have our lives, that's all that matters,' Loucks said. Beauval is currently under threat from the 'Muskeg' fire, which spans roughly 33,967 hectares – nearly double the size of Regina. The Dore fire is also a concern, with the mayor of Beauval estimating it's about 13 kilometres from the community. 'We can't let people back into the community until we're out of danger from those fires, because they can travel in one day. That distance is nothing,' Rick Laliberte, mayor of Beauval told CTV News. The village has extended its local state of emergency until July 18. Laliberte said the community needs significant rainfall. Crawford Luke, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said there's a bit of rain in the forecast for northern communities, but it's nothing substantial. 'Not seeing any substantial rainfall systems on the horizon. But, in the summer season we can still get some pretty good rainfall amounts from thunderstorms,' Luke said. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 70 wildfires burning in the province, 15 were not contained, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Lightning sparks more wildfires, evacuations in Saskatchewan with active blazes now up to 65
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says there has been a significant increase in the number of active wildfires in the past week, triggering more evacuations. As of Wednesday afternoon, the SPSA says 65 active wildfires are burning in the province with 20 considered not contained. When a provincial state of emergency expired on Friday, there were 26 active wildfires reported by the SPSA. 'The storms that brought cooler weather also brought significant lightning with them and as that area dried out, we have started to [see] more wildfires primarily on the western half of the province,' SPSA vice president of operations Steve Roberts said on Wednesday afternoon. Roberts said the most prominent of the new fires reported over the weekend is the 'Muskeg' fire that is north of the La Plonge First Nation and the community of Beauval. 'Current size is listed at over 8,000 hectares, we have firefighting crews, helicopters, air taker support and heavy equipment on that fire. We are seeing the closures of Highways 918 and 165 due to the proximity of that fire,' Roberts said. Evacuations have also been triggered for the Bear Creek Resort subdivision, Lac la Plonge subdivision and La Plonge First Nation, according to SPSA president and fire commissioner Marlo Pritchard. 'We also are aware that there are other communities in the area that are considering evacuations and are monitoring the situation,' Pritchard said. 'We are reminding residents that they can call 1-855-559-5502 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. for assistance,' he added. According to Pritchard, 45 individuals from Bear Creek Resort subdivision evacuated, with 18 being supported by the SPSA, evacuees from Lac la Plonge subdivision came from cabins and are not being supported by the SPSA and around 140 people being supported by Meadow Lake Tribal Council evacuated from La Plonge First Nation. Other significant wildfires continue to be the 'Shoe' fire near Lower Fishing Lake that is currently 554,000 hectares and the 'Pisew' fire west of La Ronge that is now listed at 185,000 hectares, according to Roberts. Roberts said crews are continuing to do containment work on both blazes and both fires are not currently threatening communities. The 'Wolf' fire west of Denare Beach is currently 161,000 hectares but continues to be stable as of late, according to Roberts. However, the 'Santo' fire reported June 2 that Roberts says is about 20,000 hectares is in the proximity of Pinehouse, northwest of La Ronge. 'Currently crews are working on that fire, but it does have some values, Highway 914, Highway 910 and some SaskPower infrastructure, but we have support on that for crews,' Roberts said. The 'Ditch02' fire in the Weyakwin area also remains not contained, according to Roberts, and is 183,000 hectares. However, most of the fire activity is in the far north near Highway 165, Roberts said. Pritchard said that people who may be facing evacuation should reach out to their community leaders to get informed about steps that may need to be taken. Pritchard also said that a state of emergency will not be activated at this time but said the situation can and will change each day.
