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LIVE @ 1:30: Saskatchewan to provide update on wildfires, evacuations
LIVE @ 1:30: Saskatchewan to provide update on wildfires, evacuations

CTV News

time3 days ago

  • Climate
  • CTV News

LIVE @ 1:30: Saskatchewan to provide update on wildfires, evacuations

The SPSA is expected to provide a provincial wildfire update at 1:30 Wednesday afternoon. Watch LIVE here. 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.

Parks Canada provides update on wildfire in Prince Albert National Park
Parks Canada provides update on wildfire in Prince Albert National Park

CTV News

time3 days ago

  • Climate
  • CTV News

Parks Canada provides update on wildfire in Prince Albert National Park

Trees burned by wildfires in northern Manitoba are shown during a helicopter tour in the surrounding area of Flin Flon, Man. on Thursday, June 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Deal-Pool Officials with Parks Canada gave more insight into the battle against the Buhl Fire, which is now burning inside Prince Albert National Park. The wildfire is estimated to cover 33,917 hectares – 6,262 hectares of which are within the park's boundaries. As of Tuesday evening, the fire is 31 kilometres from the townsite of Waskesiu. On Sunday, a pre-evacuation alert was issued for those inside Prince Albert National Park and the townsite of Waskesiu. Residents are not required to leave the area at this time – but are encouraged to be ready for an evacuation at short notice. 'This is a very difficult decision to make, and yet we feel it's prudent, just out of caution and abundance of caution for public safety, to alert people that it's possible that there could be an evacuation alert,' explained Gregg Walker, an incident commander with Parks Canada. 'We want to give people as much time as possible to evacuate should that become necessary and so evacuations are complicated and can take some time and we want to make sure people aren't under a great deal of duress while doing it.' According to Walker, the team managing the fire consists of 29 personnel, three helicopters, in addition to other heavy equipment. The majority of work being carried out is aimed at limiting the fire's spread southward. Cat lines north and south of the MacLennan River as well as north of Crean Lake are planned. Additionally, more cat lines are planned for Ramsay Bay and Montreal Lake Cree Nation. While the coming days don't look especially windy at the moment – Walker says that conditions are not expected to improve either. There is no distance threshold established for when an evacuation order will be called for communities in the area – like Waskesiu. Those decisions will be dependent on analysis of the fire's behaviour. 'We are currently planning some thresholds for when we would go to an evacuation alert and when we might move to an evacuation order and those come through analysis of fire behavior and weather and meteorology, through some specialists we have working on that,' he added. As of Tuesday evening, there are 48 active wildfires and eight active evacuations.

Wildfire emergency alert issued for Prince Albert National Park
Wildfire emergency alert issued for Prince Albert National Park

CTV News

time5 days ago

  • Climate
  • CTV News

Wildfire emergency alert issued for Prince Albert National Park

WATCH: Beauval evacuees who arrived in Saskatoon this week were nervously waiting for updates, as a shift in the winds Thursday afternoon brought fire to their A wildfire emergency advisory has been issued by Parks Canada for Prince Albert National Park due to the Buhl Fire, which is currently 40 kilometres from the townsite of Waskesiu. The alert, issued after 6 p.m. on Sunday, instructs residents to be ready to evacuate if required. If residents are able to leave the area immediately, they are encouraged to do so. Members of the public are advised to avoid the area, with the alert adding that the wildfire has the potential to cause emergency situations for the public, including deteriorating air quality and reduced visibility due to smoke. 'A fire ban is now in effect for Prince Albert National Park due to elevated fire danger. Lighting or having fires is strictly prohibited. The fire ban includes the townsite of Waskesiu, all front and back country campgrounds, and day use areas,' Prince Albert National Park said in a post on Facebook. Prohibited items include wood-burning campfires, charcoal wood or briquette barbecues, turkey fryers, torches, indoor and outdoor wood-burning stoves, including kitchen shelters, walled tents, recreational vehicles (RVs), camper vans, and residential buildings. As of Sunday afternoon, there were 56 active wildfires burning in Saskatchewan, with only four of them considered contained.

In rare move, Prince Albert National Park imposes strict limits over wildfire threat
In rare move, Prince Albert National Park imposes strict limits over wildfire threat

CTV News

time05-06-2025

  • Climate
  • CTV News

In rare move, Prince Albert National Park imposes strict limits over wildfire threat

WATCH: As wildfires rage in Saskatchewan's north, precautionary closures are being put in place in Waskesiu to protect the town and wilderness areas. As wildfires create concern in Saskatchewan's north, those inside the Prince Albert National Park (PANP) are preparing for all scenarios. Precautionary closures not seen in recent memory are being put into place at the park, located just north of Prince Albert, to protect the town and wilderness areas. Like many people in Saskatchewan, Lindsey Gerwing's heart goes out to all those affected by the wildfires. She's a business owner in one of Saskatchewan's most popular resort towns, Waskesiu, and the potential impact of fires on her livelihood weighs on her mind. 'Hopefully everyone else can come up and enjoy the park like they always do. There are just a few limits, but I think if we get a little rain, everyone in Saskatchewan will be happy,' Gerwing told CTV News. Prince Albert National Park Waskesiu business owner Lindsey Gerwing. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) Park officials took drastic steps last week to close back country trails and some lakes in the park as a pre-emptive measure to avoid the risk of new human-caused fires. 'To my knowledge, in the last 20 years, it has not happened in a preparedness state. It also is the highest fire indices that we've seen in this park in about 20 years,' said Jennifer Duquette, PANP superintendent. The only time this many areas were closed would be when there were active fires burning in the park. Helicopter surveillance is monitoring the park daily, and the village is surrounded by a fuel break — a cleared-out perimeter eliminating flammable ground cover. A few of the trails closer to the townsite and main beach are still open but checking the park website for updates is key if you are planning to visit, according to Duquette. 'Be prepared to leave if you're coming, [but] come for a visit. We are not in an evacuation situation at this moment,' she said. Prince Albert National Park Park Superintendent Jennifer Duquette. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) With the early wildfire season, the roughly 25 businesses in Waskesiu are there keeping an eye on preliminary visitor numbers very closely. Those visits affect their bottom line in a business model that relies on customers coming in a small window of a few months each year. 'It's on everybody's mind, and we certainly have seen a drastic decrease in the amount of visitors over the last few weeks. That being said, though, it's early in the season,' Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce President Chris Astle said. At the Waskesiu Golf Course, hundreds of golfers are converging for the Lobstick tournament season, which is underway, with the seniors playing this week and the men's event starting next week. 'We're probably getting a phone call every hour or two hours, asking what's going on up here and if we are open, that sort of thing,' said Paul Schatz, PGA Canada professional at the Waskesiu Golf Course. Schatz says Mother Nature tends to give golfers here a lot of weather issues in June – but it usually means rain, so they're hoping for the best right now. Prince Albert National Park PGA Canada professional Chris Schatz, Waskesiu Golf Course. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News) 'It's business as usual here. If fires do come and it impacts us, then we'll figure out what we need to do to get stuff done,' he says. A few kilometres away in the resort village of Elk Ridge, the mayor says they are open and are also watching the fires, some of which are less than 2 hours east of them. 'We're feeling quite fortunate right now, with the winds predominantly from the west. So, it's taking the risk away from us, and that's very comforting. But the weather is, always, unpredictable. And in that case, we are extremely well prepared,' Margaret Smith-Windsor, the mayor of the village of Elk Ridge told CTV News. The village expands to nearly 1,000 people in the summer, and if the fires become an issue, evacuation protocols have been shared by their emergency measures coordinator.

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