Forest fires in Saskatchewan are expected to continue aggressively growing over the next few days, fed by high temperatures, winds and dry conditions. And there are no signs of relief in sight, according to the latest update of the Public Security Agency of Saskatchewan.
“This will drastically affect our ability to contain some of these fires and will actually make some of these fires grow in size during the next period of time,” said Steve Roberts, Vice President of Operations of SPSA, at a press conference on Sunday.
Until Sunday afternoon, 15 fires burned in the province, compared to 17 because two fires have been merged and some small fires have been contained, the SPSA said.
Roberts said 20 communities are under an evacuation order from 1 PM CST on Sunday. The last evacuation orders have been in Sturgeon Landing and Timber Bay.
Thousands of people have already been displaced from their homes in communities such as Hall Lake, Pelican Narrows, Creighton, Den Beach and Weyakwin.
The fires continue to affect roads, restricting access to some communities. Roberts said that closures are constantly happening, and people must consult the direct line of the road to obtain the latest updates.
He said that from Sunday, 80 values, including houses and cabins, have been lost in forest fires.
At a press conference in Saskatoon on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Moe said that while the provinces in Canada share resources in situations such as these forest fires, a national investment in shared fire fighting forces should be considered.
“Should we have a national investment in the good of the arguments, five, 10 or 20 aerial oil tankers that could later enter that process to share wherever they are needed in any particular year?” Moe said.
“Should we that Canadians join that group of resources so that all provinces and territories, and even to be fair in the US. In some years in California, we have seen some challenging years, can you take advantage of that as a global partner?”
At a press conference on Saturday, Saskatchewan Prime Minister Scott Moe said the province is “using all the resources we can” as a series of forest fires, have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. “We cannot handle and handle a single other fire,” he said.
Latest evacuations
Moe said Sunday morning that Sturgeon Landing has been evacuated. The community is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, in the northeast of the province.
Also on Sunday, the Northern Timber Bay village issued an alert that residents must begin to evacuate themselves immediately.
A close forest fire is moving quickly and threatening the community, the alert said. The community is on the east coast of Lake Montreal, north of Prince Albert.
The alert advised the people to self -assess the use of highways 969 and 2, and that they were the Meridian Inn and Suites in Regina. The Saskatchewan Public Security Agency “will be there to welcome him,” he said.
It is still May, and the forest fire season in Las Praderas already has a dangerous and fast start. The meteorologist Johanna Wagstafffe explains how extreme heat and racing winds are creating a perfect storm for fire growth, without rain in sight.
Carl Hennie, a volunteer firefighter in Timber Bay, said things changed very quickly.
“Fast, it happened quite fast. The road from fire east of us, but the winds changed,” Hennie said in an interview on Sunday.
He also said that Timber Bay’s only fire truck is broken.
“It has not worked for some years because there are no funds to solve it … it is worrying. We are lucky to have not had a house where people and children [are] There, fortunate so far, “he said.
Hennie said the bombs froze a while ago and that the whole truck broke, and that being a small community, there is only enough money for operating costs.
Pre -evacuation for molanose
Also on Sunday, Montreal Lake Cree Nation declared a pre -evacuation notice for people in molanose, a small and isolated community about 150 kilometers north of Prince Albert.
The first nation said that the alert is due to strong west winds that were expected to cause heavy smoke and possibly push a forest fire in the region closer to the community. The Ditch02 fire is burning west of the molanose.
Any community member is urged to choose to go to the Montreal Lake Children’s and Family Services building, the designated meeting point and the command center. The band said the evacuees have to go there to receive services.
Burned cabin
Geoffrey Bird de Montreal Lake Cree Nation was part of the voluntary fire fighting team that stayed in the community in 2015 when a forest fire forced Miles to flee for a long time.
It is Déjà vu for him while waiting for the orders of the authorities. “My cabins burned in East Road,” he said.
“That is towards Candle Lake … that’s where my mother had built a cabin, and inherited that cabin. I haven’t seen her yet,” he said.
Bird said that no one can go to that area at this time, since it is too dangerous.
‘It simply came out instantaneously dark’
Lisa’s dust, Weyakwin, evacuated the Montreal Lake Create nation four days ago. She said that when she and her family left, the fire was extremely close to the community.
“I was very close, and we had to climb the buses and get here. You could hardly see anything. It simply came out instantly, from the sun to the dark,” Powder said.
“I worry about houses, structures, cabins, animals and firefighters … and our pets. Our pets are all there,” he said.
“It’s scary. We don’t know when we wake up in the morning, if there is more than [we have] Confidence in children at home and will save everything. “
Sasktel interruptions
Sasktel Internet, wireless and fixing services are not available in Deschambult Lake and Pelican Narrows in the northeast of the province, according to a statement on Sunday.
“In addition, Sasktel anticipates that these services will also be available in Jan Lake at some point this afternoon,” said the statement.
Sasktel said the services will remain available until commercial energy is restored or until Sasktel equipment goes to impacted areas.
Updated information about active fires, smoke and related topics is available in these sources:
