The fire as viewed from White Star Road, north of P.A. Monday. (Submitted photo/Aimee McKay)

By Alison Sandstrom

Uncontained blaze

Wildfire moving away from Prince Albert, no reported damage to homes

May 18, 2021 | 1:24 PM

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) says it will likely take days to contain the large fire burning on the northeast edge of Prince Albert city limits, but wind conditions are pushing the blaze away from the city.

Steve Roberts, SPSA Vice President Operations, said there have been no reports of any “significant structure loss” from the fire and no reported loss of homes.

“We have put up values protection units, which are sprinkler units at 15 homes and structures in the area and they have all been successful at this time,” Roberts told reporters Tuesday.

The agency said 29 evacuees are being accommodated at a hotel in Prince Albert, although more may have left the area and are staying with family or friends. Evacuation orders for anyone living east of Cloverdale Rd and west of Honeymoon Rd. were issued Monday afternoon.

All evacuees are asked to register with the City of P.A. by calling the Margo Founier Centre at 306-953-4816 or in-person at 1211 1st Avenue W.

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The fire has grown to 3,694 hectare in size. It was previously reported at 1,000 hectares. Roberts said high temperatures and strong winds in the 50 to 70 km range contributed to the growth of the fire Monday afternoon and into the evening.

Multiple engine crews, five helicopters, two tanker groups and heavy equipment, like bulldozers and excavators, are assigned to the fire. Roberts said efforts will continue today “even though our weather will not be favourable,” citing continued hot temperatures and 40 km per hour winds. Roberts said smoke, which had subsided somewhat Tuesday morning, is expected to pick up again later Tuesday afternoon.

Roberts said the fire is moving away from Prince Albert and its point of origin, across from the airport, is the closest it came to the city .

“It has actually moved more to the north and more to the east, which is away from the city of Prince Albert [and] we would expect those trends would continue,” Roberts said. “As it moves farther north, it actually enters farmland where it does not have fuel. And we’ve been able to contain those northern edges.”

Power outages continue

As for 9,000 homes without power in areas north of Prince Albert, SaskPower said those customers should expect outages to continue for at least the rest of Tuesday. Power restoration will likely take place Wednesday at the earliest.

“We’re working currently to deploy all the necessary equipment and materials to carry out the repairs as soon as we can,” SaskPower spokesperson Joel Cherry told reporters. “We don’t have an estimate of restore time.”

He said 10 transmission structures have been damaged, with several of them burnt to the ground.

“There’s going to be significant repairs required there, and the fire remains active. So there are logistic and safety challenges for getting in there to conduct these repairs,” Cherry said.

SaskTel update

A spokesperson for SaskTel advised paNOW they have a few sites down and work is still underway to address outages.

As of 2:45p.m., La Ronge, Christopher Lake, Emma Lake and Missinipe were still without cell service. Both Emma Lake and Missinipe were also without internet and landline.

“SaskTel crews are working to restore service as quickly as possible, however due to extensive damage and safety concerns there is no estimated time of repair,” a statement from the Crown said.

An earlier report in the day indicated outages too at Waskesiu and Weyakwin, but service has been restored thanks to some generators.

SaskTel apologized for any inconvenience caused by the outages and thanked customers for their patience and understanding.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan RCMP ask that residents of Emma Lake and Missinipe in need of police services during the outage go to their nearest RCMP detachment.

• Residents of Emma Lake are asked to go to the Prince Albert RCMP Detachment located at 150 15^th Street NW in Prince Albert, SK.
• Residents of Missinipe are asked to go to the La Ronge RCMP Detachment, located at 1603 Bay Avenue, La Ronge, SK.

Evacuees urged to register with the city

Also on Tuesday, Prince Albert Fire Chief Kris Olsen urged all evacuees to register with the city as soon as possible by calling the Margo Founier Centre at 306-953-4816 or in-person at 1211 First Avenue W.

“The registrations will provide a line of communication with evacuees and confirm the number of families impacted,” Olsen said in a media release. “Evacuees are advised that they should be prepared to not return to their homes for at least tonight.”

Read the full media release from the City of P.A. here.

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alison.sandstrom@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @alisandstrom