“I encourage everybody to take extreme care out there because these things can blow up in a heartbeat,” said Creighton mayor Bruce Fiddler.
The mayor of Creighton says there is a feeling of relief in the community after an evacuation alert was lifted thanks to the containment of a nearby fire.
“I’m very happy and a little more relaxed,” said Mayor Bruce Fiddler in an interview Wednesday morning. “I’m very confident that the remaining portions of the fire that are not extinguished will be extinguished very shortly.”
“Based on all our science and the work we’ve done, we do not expect that fire to grow in size,” Roberts said Wednesday. “It doesn’t mean the fire is out yet, it just means that it’s probably safe to say right now it’s not going to grow.”
“The summer is still here for quite a while and the hot weather isn’t letting up right away, so I encourage everybody to take extreme care out there because these things can blow up in a heartbeat,” he added.
“Even though we didn’t come to an evacuation order, I could see the extreme pressure that would be put on by having the evacuation order in place and going through the whole process,” said Fiddler. “Had we not been fortunate to have very favourable winds, it could have turned out to be a lot more serious.”
Several wildfires worsened in Jasper National Park Monday, prompting Parks Canada to issue an evacuation alert that is estimated to have impacted approximately 25,000 people, including town residents, seasonal staff and visitors as well as residents of nearby First Nations.
Although Saskatchewan has its hands full with just under 100 active wildfires in the province, Roberts says they’ll be sending some hose and possibly other “surplus” equipment out west to assist crews battling blazes near Jasper. No aircraft will be deployed to Alberta or any other province or territory for the time being.
“We’re fully engaged here,” said Roberts.
The SPSA has so far deployed crews and equipment to the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Manitoba during this year’s wildfire season. Back at home, there are currently 250 provincial crew members combating wildfires across Saskatchewan. There are also 82 five-person crews supporting northern communities, not including support workers and aviation pilots who are also engaged, Roberts added.
Over the weekend, two water bombers from Ontario were stationed in Saskatchewan to help with firefighting efforts.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 99 actives fires in the province, 13 categorized as not contained 12 as contained, 49 as ongoing assessment and 25 as protecting property. While there are two large wildfires burning near Churchill Lake and another in the Pinehouse area, no evacuation orders or alerts have been issued.
— with files from Matthew Black at the Edmonton Journal