1.2 million hectares of Saskatchewan land scorched in this year’s wildfire season

Steve Roberts says the wildfire season so far in Saskatchewan has been significant, but it still has not broken records.

Roberts, the vice-president of operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, said 1.2 million hectares of land has burned so far this season in the province.

The record was set in 2015, when 1.7 million hectares of land burned within the year.

“We as an agency have to prepare for a busy season,” said Roberts. “If it’s a slow season, that’s fine, and if it’s a busy season, we will be prepared to do the best we can to manage all these fires on the landscape.”

As of Tuesday, there have been 370 wildfires in the province so far this year. That’s above the five-year average of 312, but below the 10-year average of 415.

There are 54 active wildfires burning in the province. That includes 34 that are currently under assessment, three fires that are contained, 11 that involve protected properties, and six that aren’t yet contained.

Evacuations have started in Fond du Lac after one fire east of the community has blanketed the area in smoke.

“As of the last 24 hours, we have started to receive rain on that fire, so that’s going to make significant improvements on the actions there,” said Roberts.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has monitored the area but is not in charge of evacuations.

Many of the wildfires that were started are man-made. Roberts encouraged people to make smart choices as we head into the August long weekend.

“The behaviour of the citizens of Saskatchewan make a big difference to our wildfire season and the amount of impact we will have,” said Roberts.

That starts with being careful while lighting campfires and fireworks in certain areas, and also while when using ATVs and letting them idle in dry areas.