Progress is being made against two wildfires in Saskatchewan, both of which prompted evacuations late last week, according to the province’s public safety group.
At the time of publication, no residential homes have been lost or reported as damaged, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
The Cayford Fire is burning in the east-central part of the province, while the Lobstick Fire is burning alongside the Saskatchewan River between Prince Albert and Duck Lake. SPSA crews are on site at both blazes, it said.
Over 1,000 people were evacuated because of the Cayford Fire, Premier Scott Moe told reporters at Monday’s update. The evacuations were put in place due to the smoke in the air and the loss of access to some roadways.
“We’re expecting vigorous fire activity,” Bryan Chartrand, executive director at the SPSA, said of the Cayford Fire – which is not yet considered “contained” by the agency.
Fire crews, aircraft and dozers are deployed to fight this fire, including a dozer that is restricting its northward growth to protect a critical roadway, he said. Winds have pushed the fire westward, where Chartrand said there are cabins, but none have been impacted so far as the fire burned past them.
No other communities are expected to be hit by the blaze, but they may see smoke-related effects, including poor air quality, he continued.
Efforts are also underway to fight the Lobstick Fire, according to the premier, who said waterbombers were deployed in his riding over the weekend.
“I found my way back home on Friday night,” the premier said, recalling the local officials and the SPSA who were working to manage the then-growing flames and evacuation efforts when he arrived.
“There was a lot of concern as to where that fire might go in the days ahead. Saturday was largely a turning point as the weather was not in our favour.”
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As far as the current fire risk, Chartrand said the situation is looking better. It will continue to improve, so long as the forecasted precipitation arrives, as it did on Sunday, the SPSA’s executive director said.
That rainfall allowed firefighters to reclaim some ground against the wildfire, he continued.
“I think we’re in a stronger position today than maybe we were four days ago when it comes to the Lobstick fire (but) we have more work to do,” Moe said.
For now, the premier says the province needs to be prepared for anything, as fire season will continue for the coming months.
Community banding together for support
Ray Enns lives in the Rural Municipality of Leask, located northwest of the Nisbet Provincial Forest where the Lobstick fire originated, and was told to evacuate his home Friday.
“We could see the flames over top of the trees and I figured that the house might be gone,” Enns told Global News in an interview.
“One of the fire department people came over to us and said, ‘we’re going to move you all out to the eight mile corner.’ And he looked right at me and he said, I’m sorry for your loss, it’s gone,” he said, adding that it was an emotional moment for him.
But when he returned to his property area hours later, he was shocked to see flames just steps away from his home, narrowly sparing it.
He quickly jumped into action, with neighbours and other firefighting crews following suit.
“We started fighting little spot fires behind the house, and then next thing you know, Travis and his wife came in and started fighting with his truck and trailer fire on the side of the driveway and then two other guys came in, and they helped us behind the house,” he said.
Enns said he does not know what the state of his property would be if it were not for neighbours and the fire crew offering a hand.
“It’s just incredible, the support,” he said. “Farmers doing seeding, they took off from the seeding to help out.”
Just down the street, Rick McDonald stayed up until the early hours Saturday, fighting flames from crossing the street on his acreage — he too was not alone.
“It was amazing, all those people who had nothing to lose, they were just out there helping people,” said McDonald.
Nearby, parts of the southern areas of the Rural Municipality of Shellbrook have been under evacuation orders, while eastern parts are on alerts.
Around 130 residents were told to evacuate in total, with many turning to friends, family and the local community, said Christine Strube, reeve of the RM of Shellbrook.
“It’s poured in from the community, all kinds of services, all kinds of food, people have offered up their homes, people have offered up lodging for livestock and pets. It’s been amazing,” she said.
“It’s really a special time when you see communities and individuals come together to support one another. We see that year in, year out, in other communities,” said Moe, who is from the Shellbrook area.
Though no homes have been lost, a chicken coop, shed and trailer were scorched in the Lobstick fires, according to the public safety agency.