Recent rainfall reduces wildfire threat across Saskatchewan
Recent rainfall in some parts of Saskatchewan has reduced the wildfire threat in the province, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
According to officials who provided an update on Friday, firefighters have been able to gain more control over some fires, while others have shrunk in size.
“We have had some showers on some of these fires,” SPSA vice president Steve Roberts said.
“We have a lot [of oportunity] for crews to switch from indirect to direct attack and put more resources on the lines securing those critical boundaries that are near the communities.”
The SPSA also said that evacuees from Buffalo Narrows and Ile-a-la-Crosse who were staying in Regina have now returned to their communities.
“All of the communities that were threatened, we have been successful in keeping the fires from entering and damaging those communities,” Roberts said.
“We have reported damage to some of the SaskPower infrastructure, which has been repaired this time by SaskPower,” he added.
SPSA continues to provide emergency crisis support to evacuees from Dillon, St. Georges Hill, Michel Village, English River First Nation and Pimicikamak in Lloydminster and North Battleford.
“The support includes food, clothing, shelter and other services,” SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said.
The SPSA also continues to support 52 people in Lloydminister from Buffalo Narrows and 131 people in North Battleford.
Pritchard said there are still 20 active wildfires currently burning in the province.
The SPSA’s website says five of those fires are considered not contained as of Friday afternoon.
There have been 187 wildfires across Saskatchewan so far in 2023, according to the SPSA.
The five year average for this time of year is 114.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.