Where can you have a campfire in Saskatchewan?

It is another hot weekend in Saskatchewan, with heat warnings covering much of the province.

While many people have headed to the lake to cool off, sitting by a campfire toasting smores or telling scary stories this weekend will be off the menu, as fire bans blanket many northern parts of the province.

So where can you have a campfire in Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan Minister of Public Safety Paul Merriman joined Evan Bray on Friday to discuss where you can have a fire and where you can’t.

“The rough boundaries (for the fire bans) are if you draw a diagonal line from Lloydminster, through Prince Albert over to Hudson’s Bay,” said Merriman. “That area north will still be under the SPSA fire ban.”

Saskatchewan’s fire ban map on July 19, 2024. The ban region extends to the very north of the province (not pictured). (Supplied/Saskatchewan government)

Anyone south of that line is free to have a fire — unless their community says otherwise.

Merriman said a big contributor the province’s wild fires, especially up north, was lightning strikes.

“We had, about a week ago, over half a million lightning strikes in Saskatchewan,” said Merriman. “That produced a bunch of fires. We went from 20 up to 95.”

Saskatchewan Minister of Public Safety Paul Merriman. (650 CKOM file photo)

That total was sitting at 107 on July 19.

Thirteen of those fires have been contained, 57 are currently undergoing assessment, in 17 fires crews are working to protect property and 20 blazes are not contained.

Merriman said while fires can be started by Mother Nature, they are usually started by people.

“I would say on average it’s about 70 per cent (started by humans),” said Merriman.

He said situations like the current one in the north of the province are an “all hands on deck” situation for everyone involved, not just firefighters.

“We also have water bombers, helicopters, … hot shot crews …,” said Merriman.

Merriman said that all human-started fires are preventable.

Read more

• Nearly 100 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan
• Even with a wet spring, a fire ban is still needed, says SPSA