By Glenn Hicks

No escalation in threat from Pelican Narrows wildfires

Sep 5, 2017 | 5:00 PM

The wildfire situation in the Pelican Narrows region remains challenging, although officials insist there is no escalation in the threat to the community.

“The weather has been hot and dry and it looks like that’s what we’re going to see over the next few days,” Duane McKay the Commissioner of Fire Safety said in a provincial media call Tuesday. “That creates a very dynamic situation for Pelican Narrows.”

McKay described the threat level across the province as “very, very high.”

The fire burning closest to Pelican Narrows, one of three uncontrolled blazes in the region, is within three kilometres of the community, which is closer than officials said last week. But Steve Roberts with Wildfire Management said that’s because they now have a more accurate measurement. He did not categorize the situation as more threatening.

“No. That fire has not moved in that location. It has been the same distance from the community for well over a week,” he said.

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The so-called Preston blaze is now being labelled a “direct fire threat.” It was a smoke threat last week.

“We have secured the [south] flank,” Roberts said, “but we have concerns. The fire is adjacent to the community.”

Roberts said firefighters were successful in protecting values such as infrastructure in the community.

The provincial fire ban from the Churchill River system to the southern border remains in effect. A grass fire sparked up on the Saskatchewan and Montana border Sunday.

Roughly 2,500 people have now been evacuated from the region with just under 1,500 having come to Prince Albert.

Boost for some businesses

While the temporary swell in Prince Albert’s population is not for the best of reasons, it has brought a boost for some local businesses.

Ed Zaparaniuk is a franchisee with Tim Horton’s.

“I’m probably up twenty percent because of all the evacuees coming to my trailer,” he said. A mobile unit is stationed at the Prince Albert Inn while they build their new store. But he’s also seeing a spike in business elsewhere.

“The evacuees are coming to all the locations, and with big orders…fourteen or fifteen dollars per order,” he said.

Pandeep K. Saggar is the manager of Checker-Family taxi. He’s also seeing some increase in demand from evacuees.

“Sometimes they need to get to the hospital or a doctor’s appointment, get their laundry washed, or maybe they need to get to Walmart for supplies like diapers for their babies,” he said.

Around half of the evacuees in P.A. are staying in hotels. Many others are with family or friends.

Glenn.Hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow