Rain and cool temperatures expected to help contain fires

Cooler temperatures and the prospect of rain could help contain a pair of troublesome forest fires, the Saskatchewan government says.

Dry, hot conditions have made battling the 2,100-hectare Rally fire west of Prince Albert and the 2,600-hectare Tuff fire near Meadow Lake “quite challenging,” director of wildfire operations Scott Wasylenchuk said on Wednesday.

With temperatures today expected to drop to the mid-teens and a possibility of rainfall, fire crews could “make some really good progress,” Wasylenchuk said. The number of active fires in the province was down to 10, with only Rally and Tuff considered not yet contained.

According to Social Services, 122 people relocated from Waterhen Lake First Nation near Meadow Lake and are registered by the Canadian Red Cross in Saskatoon, either at the Henk Ruys Soccer Centre or staying with family or friends. Another 54 are staying in Meadow Lake hotels.

The provincial government on Tuesday issued a sweeping fire ban in response to the dry conditions. The ban on open fires was put in place in a wide expanse extending from the U.S. border to the Churchill River, north of La Ronge. The ban applies to all Crown land, burn notification areas and provincial parks and recreation sites within the ban area.