Saskatchewan watching Fort McMurray fire approach, but no imminent threat | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Saskatchewan watching Fort McMurray fire approach, but no imminent threat

Original Publication Date May 09, 2016 - 11:15 AM

REGINA - The Fort McMurray wildfire and another blaze in northern Alberta are moving towards Saskatchewan, but have not crossed the provincial boundary as quickly as initially feared.

Steve Roberts, executive director of Saskatchewan wildfire management, said the fire that devastated Fort McMurray was 30 kilometres away and another large fire was 15 kilometres from crossing into the province on Monday.

"And that puts them more than 50 kilometres from any Saskatchewan community, either of the fires, so no imminent threat from these fires," Roberts said.

Roberts said fire officials in Saskatchewan were preparing for the fires and also working with Alberta to share data.

"The good news for us is that fire behaviour has dropped dramatically. They are also under a cooler, moister trend," he said.

The wildfire did not grow to the size that was expected over the weekend.

Roberts said there was no timeline on when the fire might cross into Saskatchewan. Fire specialists look at weather, fire behaviour and the fuel in front of fires to make projections about where the fire could go in a "worst-case scenario."

"We have not seen any of that behaviour," he said.

The closest communities would be places such as La Loche or Buffalo Narrows. The communities have been under special air-quality advisories from Environment Canada because winds have spread smoke from Alberta into northwestern Saskatchewan.

Roberts also said that fires in parts of northern Saskatchewan last summer may help the situation this year. Some of those fires burned out large tracts between the provincial boundary and Saskatchewan communities, which means there is no fuel for the Fort McMurray fire if it moves east.

"What happened in 2015 has actually created a fire barrier from some of these Fort McMurray fires, should they come across the border."

Roberts says there have been 137 wildfires in Saskatchewan so far this year. Seventeen were active, but all were contained or under assessment.

The wildfire risk remained high or extreme in parts of Saskatchewan on Monday, but eased off in some areas as much needed rain finally fell.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning Monday for southwestern Saskatchewan, forecasting that a low pressure system would bring 50 to 80 millimetres of rain to much of southern Saskatchewan over a 48-hour period.

"Without a doubt, across the province, we have cooler temperatures everywhere and higher humidity everywhere, which will moderate our fire hazard and our fire behaviour," said Roberts.

There was no provincewide fire ban, as there is in Alberta. However, there is a ban in northern Saskatchewan, many provincial parks and local municipalities.

Emergency management commissioner Duane McKay said people should still "be very vigilant in how they use fire," noting that most of the fires have been caused by people.

"Respect the fire bans where they're in place and where they're not in place, do not fire unless absolutely necessary. Take the proper precautions for recreational use, campfires and so on to ensure that you don't cause an incident that would put other people in harm's way," said McKay.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016
The Canadian Press

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