By Alex Soloducha

Fires put Canada Day plans on hold for lake goers

Jun 29, 2015 | 6:41 AM

Fires in the northern part of the province are wreaking havoc on holiday plans and may put Canada Day fun on hold.

Bob Wilson, acting director of northern park operations with the ministry of parks, culture and sport, said there is an inverse relationship between fires and parks.

“While there’s great lake and beach weather, and a lot of people desire that, it’s not exactly what the Wildfire Management branch is looking for over the next week and particularly this Canada Day long weekend,” he said.

Wilson said they continue to support Wildfire Management in the fire ban in the northern provincial forests. Information about which specific parks are affected is available here. 

Campgrounds in Lac La Ronge Provincial Park have been closed by the ministry until further notice.

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“Specifically they are the Nemeiben Lake Campground, the Wadin Bay Campground and the MacKay Lake Campground,” said Wilson.

He said a few campgrounds are still open, but that doesn’t mean they encourage campers to visit the area.

“We’re not really recommending people come up to Lac La Ronge Provincial Park because of the smoke and we don’t want them there with the volatility of the situation, we can’t support that,” he said.

Other campsites have also been closed in the last 24 hours.

“As a result of the Crysto fire, we have also evacuated the Weyakwin Lake Recreation Site/Ramsey Bay Campground in concert with the recommendation with the Wildfire Management branch,” said Wilson.

Holiday plans on hold

According to Wilson, conditions don’t look like they’ll be improving anytime soon and that means you may have to change your plans for the week. That is, if they include having fun at the lake.

“If the situation continues to stay as it is, Canada Day celebrations on July 1st in provincial parks, where the fire ban is in place, will have to be postponed,” said Wilson.

The ministry confirmed that it will in fact not be allowing the purchase of fireworks in provincial parks, including Emma and Christopher Lakes.

“You only get to shoot off fireworks with a letter of authorization or permitting from the park’s supervisor if you’re letting go fireworks at the best of times,” said Wilson. “So given the nature of the fire bans, I could see that in some parks in the northern provincial forests that they’ve asked our commercial lessees and store owners to withdraw fireworks from sale off their shelves.”

In southern Saskatchewan, where open fires are being allowed, Wilson reminds people to watch their fires closely and make sure they are fully put out before leaving their campsite.

“This is a tremendous, as I said, beach and lake weather season for us and we want everybody to have a safe experience, particularly with their campfires,” said Wilson.

asoloducha@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha