Cooler weather to aid firefight in Prince Albert

High winds continue to challenge crews battling the Cloverdale wildfire northeast of Prince Albert, but a change in the weather is being welcomed by emergency personnel.

The fire is still uncontained.

Meanwhile, SaskPower crews have been cleared to enter the area to start restoring power to 8,000 homes north of P.A. that have been in the dark since Monday.

“We will be able to make much more progress today with the cooler weather,” Steve Roberts, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s vice-president of operations, told reporters midday Wednesday.

Roberts said the fire had expanded from around 3,700 hectares or 40 square kilometres reported Tuesday, but the growth was “not substantive.”

“(The) fire has grown overnight and late yesterday afternoon to the east away from the City of Prince Albert, more towards some agricultural farmland in the area,” Roberts said.

He said the fire jumped Highway 55, but has since been contained on that edge.

New evacuation orders were issued Wednesday morning for around a dozen homes in the RM of Garden River.

To date, the City of Prince Albert has registered 75 evacuated households. The SPSA is providing food, clothing and shelter for approximately 45 evacuees in Prince Albert.

No homes have been destroyed to date. The Prince Albert pulp mill has also been left unscathed.

Roberts said the fire came up to the edge of Aallcann Wood Suppliers’ operational site. The site itself is secure, but log decks in the area and an office trailer have been damaged by the fire, he said.

Positive news for power

Around 8,000 homes north of Prince Albert continue to be without power, but SaskPower spokesperson Joel Cherry said there were some “positive developments” Wednesday morning.

Electricity has been restored to 1,000 homes in rural areas between Spruce Home and Christopher Lake.

The main line which feeds Emma Lake, Montreal Lake, Paddockwood, Anglin Lake, Filion Lake, Grandmother Bay, La Ronge and Waskesiu remains down. But Cherry said crews have recently been cleared to enter the area; on Tuesday, that was considered too dangerous because of the uncontained fire.

“We’re mobilizing our crews, equipment and materials to get the work done,” Cherry said. “Once they get in there. They’re going to start working 24/7 until the power is restored.

“If the conductor wire is in decent shape, and fire conditions don’t impede us, we could potentially have the power restored in a day or so.”

Status quo at local jails

A statement from the Ministry of Corrections confirmed operations at Pine Grove Correctional Centre and the nearby Prince Albert Youth Residence have not been affected by the Cloverdale fire.

“Corrections is carefully monitoring the situation in Prince Albert and is communicating with local authorities and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency on a regular basis,” the statement said.

Alison Sandstrom, paNOW