Wildfire stock photo. (Photo 189385955 © Serjlogrus | Dreamstime.com)

By paNOW Staff

Wildfire Activity

Potential for active wildfire season high despite rain in Saskatchewan

Jun 19, 2024 | 6:00 AM

A wetter than normal May and June has led to a significantly slower start to the wildfire season in the province, but the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said that doesn’t mean the impact will last throughout the summer.

In an email to paNOW, a spokesperson for the SPSA said, “It is forecasted to be a warm and dry summer, which means the potential for wildfires will increase as the fuels dry out.”

According to the daily fire danger map, most of the province is currently rated as low or moderate potential for fire intensity, however, there are also parts of the province rated as high or extreme.

Since January, there have been 174 wildfires in Saskatchewan that have charred 33,698 hectares. That’s compared to 384 fires during the same time last year and more than 1,711,003 hectares burned.

The slow start doesn’t necessarily mean a cost savings. The SPSA said it can’t predict or budget for an increase or decrease in the number or severity of emergencies on an annual basis due to the variability of any given wildfire season.

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“When needed, the SPSA will request additional funds through supplemental funding in order to respond to an increase in emergency responses.”

In this year’s budget, the province allocated $78.4 million in funding to the SPSA. Included in that is $5.5 million toward the purchase of four re-purposed land-based airtanker aircraft that carry an approximate cost of $187.06 million over three years. The planes will replace the current fleet of land-based airtanker aircraft. Federal funding of $16.3 million is committed to offset the cost of the aircraft through Natural Resources Canada’s Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate Program. The first of the four planes isn’t expected to arrive until late summer of 2025, with the remaining arriving by the end of 2027.

Despite the slow start, firefighters stand at the ready. The SPSA’s Type 1 firefighters respond to all-hazards including weather, wildfires, chemical spills, floods and other events. They usually perform initial attack and sustained action on wildfires but they are also trained to support all pillars of emergency response including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

“In addition, the SPSA has mutual aid partnerships with jurisdictions in Canada and North America. These partnerships allow the agency to send and receive resources from other jurisdictions, if needed.”

For example, on May 10, the SPSA provided one birddog and two CL215T aircraft to support operations in Manitoba. Fire suppression equipment was also sent there. On May 30, the SPSA deployed a Type 1 crew and an agency representative to support operations in the Northwest Territories. Last year, over 140 SPSA staff were deployed to 17 out-of-province fire requests during the spring and summer months.

While the SPSA is prepared for an increase of fire activity should the temperatures increase this summer, it’s not only Mother Nature firefighters will have to contend with. In Saskatchewan, nearly half of the wildfires in the province are caused by human activity.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @princealbertNOW