Saskatchewan's provincial fire ban lifted due to rainfall and cooler weather

Saskatchewan's provincial fire ban is no longer in effect due to recent rainfall and cooler weather.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) lifted the fire ban last Friday at noon CST. The SPSA said precipitation brought down the risk of fires in northern Saskatchewan's forests.

''I removed the ban because we had some broad-based precipitation that came over the northern third of the province and reduced the hazards,'' Steve Roberts, SPSA vice-president of operations, said on Tuesday.

''Fire numbers started to come down a little bit. So the combination meant that we could remove the fire ban because now we had capacity, should a new fire start, to deal with it. But also some of the other fires were getting contained and managed because of the weather change.''

The fire ban prohibited setting fires on all Crown lands, provincial parks, provincial recreation sites located north of the provincial forest boundary and in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District.

Despite the ban being lifted, provincial parks, municipalities and RMs may still institute local fire bans, restrictions or advisories.

Steve Roberts is the vice-president of operations at the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. (Submitted by Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)

Roberts is asking people in the province to be careful with fires.

''Have campfires where they're allowed. Make sure they're fully extinguished before you leave the campsite. Make sure there's always somebody monitoring it,'' Roberts said.

''Don't have a sort of a spot break where you might have a smoke or a small fire in a remote part of the forest. They should be in controlled areas where there's a fire pit or a clear spot.''

He said people should be careful where they park their ATVs because their exhausts are hot, which can lead to fires. And people should avoid using fireworks in dry areas.

With temperatures expected to rise again, what can we expect?

''So could a fire ban happen again? Yes, if the conditions merit that. If the conditions don't, we won't put one in," Roberts said. "I mean, we'll continue with our prevention messaging, advising people to be cautious. A fire ban is kind of the last straw where we kind of have to say, 'Absolutely not, under any circumstances.'''

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's active wildfire situation map showed 85 active wildfires as of Tuesday morning. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)

There were 86 active wildfires in Saskatchewan as of 1:15 p.m. CST on Tuesday.

Eleven of those fires are considered out of control, according to the SPSA website.

The SPSA said 11 of the active fires are contained, while 43 are being monitored regularly to assess risk. Action is being taken to protect cabins and infrastructure around the 21 remaining fires.

Roberts said the province's fires have kept SPSA crews busy so they haven't been able to send any personnel to Alberta to help fight their fires.

''We were actively engaged when the [Jasper] fire was occurring. They did receive resources from other parts of the country, but we have sent crews out when we weren't as busy,'' he said.

''The whole system of mutual aid depends on if you have resources that aren't utilized, lend them to your neighbours. If you're busy, they understand it is what it is, but that's why you're actually calling on 13 provinces and territories when you make requests, not just your closest neighbour.''