By Brent Bosker

MacDowall fire not yet controlled

May 20, 2011 | 6:22 AM

The wildfire burning south of Prince Albert has been held in check, despite continued dry and windy weather

The estimated 1.5 square kilometre blaze has been smoldering since Wednesday afternoon near MacDowall and is still not under control according to the Ministry of Environment.

Crews made good progress even without the cooperation of the weather, said ministry spokeswoman Janette Krayetski.

“I spoke to the fire managers and they said they are doing really well. (They) have a catline pretty much right around the perimeter of the fire,” she said.

The temperature climbed to 25 C Thursday. Krayetski said that, combined with the already extremely dry conditions led to flare ups.

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“They did request some tanker support to help on some hot spots that were flaring up on the north end of the fire. (They) are continuing to use man power on the ground and heavy equipment to build lines.”

“This fire is just a really good example of how dry things and how volatile the burning conditions are and anything starting is getting up quickly… and being very difficult to contain,” she said.

Open fires were banned this week by the province in several communities, including Prince Albert and La Ronge, because of the high risk.

As of Thursday evening, the fire was safely burning away from homes and isn’t affecting traffic on Highway 11.

bbosker@panow.com