Fires continue in Northwest Saskatchewan, though not under the same level of seriousness as in other parts of the province. (File photo/Government of Saskatchewan)

By meadowlakeNOW Staff

Blaze continues

Fires in northwest region still being monitored

Aug 4, 2021 | 5:00 PM

While the Northwest region of Saskatchewan doesn’t contain one of the five wildfires of note in the province, there are still two blazes that are being monitored closely by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and local fire departments.

The Strike fire, located 16 kilometres from Dorintosh, northwest of Meadow Lake, has been burning since July 9 and is currently over 3200 hectares. Dennis Trueman, Provincial Land Operations Manager for the SPSA, said they have heavy equipment, aircraft and manpower as needed and there isn’t a current threat to any property in the area.

“They’re making good progress with this bit of moisture and cool temperatures we’ve received,” he said. “We had some smoke and fog issues where it was difficult to fly aircraft in, but that seems to have broken a little bit.”

Another blaze to keep an eye on, the Helene fire by Helene Lake, southeast of Meadow Lake and about 45 minutes north east of the Battlefords, began on July 12 and is currently at 4,500 hectares. Trueman said they have heavy equipment, bucket support, staff on the ground and more.

“Once in a while it challenges our cat guards, but we’ve been successful in cutting it off,” he said.

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In the next few days, Trueman said the SPSA are going to be scanning these two fires with an infrared drone.

“It will give us a really good indication of where we need to focus our efforts on (and) any areas that may threaten the line,” he said.

Smoke will continue to be a potential issue, though Trueman said there isn’t an indication there will be enough that would cause any areas to consider evacuation. He also encouraged people to observe fire bans in their area.

“If there aren’t restrictions, don’t leave your fires unattended and doubly make sure that it’s out.”

Several areas from the RM of Meadow Lake and further north of the city are still experiencing poor air quality due to wildfire smoke. Residents are advised to take precautions to reduce exposure.

Currently, there are 129 total active fires in the province, 20 of which are not contained. This means that suppression action is taking place, but the fire is expected to still grow. Five fires have been contained and there are 20 where crews are protecting property. Additionally, 84 are receiving ongoing assessments, which is also being done for the 20 that are not contained.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

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