Fire threat from Alberta easing

Weather is helping ease the wildfire battle in northeastern Alberta, and Saskatchewan officials say there is no imminent threat to any communities in this province.

However, the province is speaking with communities in northwestern Saskatchewan to ensure evacuation plans are in place if necessary. During a media briefing Monday May 9, emergency management commissioner Duane McKay said his department is in touch with communities such as La Loche, Buffalo Narrows, and others in the area.

“The direct risk to fire, as we’ve seen in Alberta, is not present and may not be present for some days if it ever materialized,” McKay said.

However, with the risk that the Fort McMurray fire could spread across the provincial boundary, McKay said the province is making sure those communities have plans in place.

In addition, if the weather cools off, smoke from the fires that is currently high in the sky may descend on the area, so they need to be prepared to move out anyone whose health could be affected. However, officials said the air quality around La Loche had improved in the past 24 hours.

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McKay said no evacuees from Alberta sought help from Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services. Fewer than 12 were estimated to be in this province, getting assistance from the Canadian Red Cross.

Steve Roberts, executive director of the province’s Wildfire Management Branch, said the weather has helped reduce the threat from the Alberta fires, which looked on Saturday May 7 as though they might cross the line into Saskatchewan. That didn’t happen, and a wind now blowing from the north has reduced that risk.

Roberts also said the fires that burned west of the La Loche area in 2015 created a natural barrier between those communities and the Fort McMurray fire should it start moving in that direction.

Merv Tippe, consultant with the Ministry of Health, said his department had been working with Keewatin Yathe and Prairie North health regions to ensure plans for possible evacuations are in place. However, when he had last checked, smoke had caused few health issues, if any.

Roberts said there were 17 fires active in Saskatchewan, all of them contained or under assessment. They were among 137 fires in total since the start of 2016.

gsmith@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @smithco