Fire near Prince Albert. (Submitted photo/Curtis Wailing)

By Ian Gustafson

Wildfire

Year in review: Cloverdale fire spreads northeast of city

Dec 26, 2021 | 12:00 PM

As 2021 draws to a close, paNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

The day it all started

In May, the City of Prince Albert and surrounding communities experienced the spread of the Cloverdale fire.

On May 17, 2021, around 2:30 p.m. the wildfire broke out across the highway from the Prince Albert Airport. The Prince Albert Fire Department reported homes and businesses were evacuated North of Highway 55, East of Cloverdale Road and West of Honeymoon Road. The evacuation site was set up at the Margo Fournier Centre.

Emergency officials immediately moved into the affected areas going door-to-door to evacuate. (Dwight Bergstrom)

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Later that evening, Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne told media during a press conference that the city was at the mercy of the weather and called it a ‘monster’ of a fire.

He explained crews would be working through the night to try and tackle the blaze. The fire started in the RM of Buckland but winds blew it across the highway.

Threat on horizon: the fire looms close to the city and much will depend on the wind’s behaviour. (Trevor Redden/paNOW Staff)

Asked what his confidence level was for the fire to be contained Dionne said: ”It’s a monster, the winds are fanning it. It’s making its own wind tunnels and it’s growing.

“We are sprinkling as many houses as we can but that’s not a guarantee we’ll stop it because it’s such a size.” He estimated that size at around two and a half kilometres by two and a half kilometres.

Continuing the work

On May 18 the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said it would likely take days to contain the fire but that wind was pushing it away from the city.

Roughly 29 evacuees were being accommodated at a hotel in Prince Albert, although more may have left the area and stayed with family or friends. The fire had grown 3,694 hectares in size after previously being reported at 1,000 hectares.

The fire as viewed from White Star Road, north of P.A. May 18. (Submitted photo/Aimee McKay)

Also, 9,000 homes were reported to be without power for the rest of the day as crews were working on getting to the source of the issue.

On May 19, cooler weather helped fire crews in the fight against the Cloverdale fire and was labelled later that day as 65 per cent contained.

Fire contained

On May 20, the blaze was listed as contained on provincial and federal fire maps. After three days of fighting the fire was contained and Highway 55 was reopened, some evacuees were also allowed to return home.

Speaking that day, Steve Roberts with the SPSA told reporters the fire was mapped Wednesday night at 5,583 hectares but had not grown in the last 24 hours and was not expected to grow any further.

(Submitted photo/Mark Zelensky)

Prince Albert Fire Chief Kris Olsen spoke to media near Highway 55 saying no homes were lost in the fire.

“We’re here to protect the citizens of Prince Albert, and it’s a great feeling, actually,” Olsen said. “A lot of hard work from our staff and the partners we have went into saving those buildings. There’s a sense of pride, as well.”

Some of the aftermath of the Cloverdale Fire. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

On May 21 it was determined all evacuees were allowed to return home.

The cause

On May 27, it was determined a lightning strike was the source of the fire that took days to contain.

Fire Inspector Brad Antonson with the P.A. Fire Department told paNOW the fire started within city limits, about 300 metres northeast of Evergreen Road.

A scorched “tree of origin” with bark blown off one side was found in the area, indicating a lightning strike, Antonson explained.

“So basically the tree was struck and the fire’s burning underground undetected and then we get hot dry weather and the fire comes to the surface,” Antonson said.

Stories of working together

The Cloverdale Fire also produced some unbelievable stories of hard work and how communities come together in moments of crisis.

Brian Wojciechowski, owner of Big Blue Water Services in Candle Lake, said he was called in to help Monday when the blaze started. He worked through the night and into Tuesday evening for a total of 40 hours on the job.

Part of his effort, among other tasks, was to transport water into containment tanks also called ‘pumpkins’ used for sprinkler systems to douse the homes and acreages. He explained he brought water to anyone who needed it.

“If someone needed water, we were doing it,” he said.

One of Brian’s trucks filling up a water containment tank. (Submitted photo/Brian Wojciechowski)

He explained he also took directions from multiple battalion chiefs as so many fire departments from around the area and province were involved.

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Iangustafson12