REGINA — The flooding situation seems to have eased somewhat, but there is still considerable wildfire activity in the province, according to the latest Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency update July 9.
In its update, the SPSA is reporting that as of 11 a.m. Thursday, 72 wildfires are active in the province. Eight are contained, nine are not contained, 46 are listed as ongoing assessment, and nine are listed as protecting values.
Fifteen fires have started or been reported in the last seven days. One fire was declared out in the last seven days. To date, 113 fires have lightning confirmed as the cause.
As for major fires, the Border fire is 12,116 hectares and is not contained. The Costigan fire is listed as values protection and is 13,089 hectares.
The Kerslake fire is listed as not contained and is 9,926 hectares in size. The SPSA's Bryan Chartrand said they have deprived the fire of its fuels and it is burning itself out, and they have staff crews on the ground securing the lines and making sure it doesn't breach containment.
The Gulak fire is now listed as contained at 309 hectares, and the SEIR-01 fire is listed at 5,113 hectares. A new fire, the Fleming fire, is 30 hectares in size and 17 kilometres away from Southend. The Red fire, 13.5 kilometres from Wollaston, is listed as contained.
The SPSA currently has 12 active declarations of local emergency for flooding. These include Keeseekoose First Nation; the RMs of Insinger, Meadow Lake, Redberry, Sliding Hills and Sasman; the Town of Raymore; the villages of Pelly and Annaheim; and the resort villages of Leslie Beach and Chorney Beach.
The SPSA says it remains in contact with each of these communities and is supporting multiple communities and rural areas with equipment resources, including pumps, hoses and sandbags. Its emergency services officers will continue to liaise with these communities being affected by flooding and will continue to assist as required.
Nine priority one residents from Cote First Nation remain evacuated due to flooding, and are being supported by the community.
Several highways and roads continue to be impacted, and the Ministry of Highways is reporting that water remains on some travel lanes of provincial highways. Drivers are being urged to remain vigilant, follow all posted signs and directions from any flag persons, and adjust their driving to current conditions.
One situation that was addressed was on Highway 49 west of Pelly. Highways official Dan Palmer reported that the ministry became aware of a culvert that washed out around June 30, which closed this portion of Highway 49.
He reports that Highways secured a temporary bridge and deployed it in this area, and reopened this segment by July 3. Ministry engineers are now determining what permanent repair is best for this portion of Highway 49, he said.
As well, the ministry was made aware of a culvert washout around July 1 on Highway 8 north of Kamsack, closing that road. It was reopened by July 2 after Highways deployed one of the temporary bridges in its inventory.
Again, the ministry is determining what permanent repair is best for this portion of Highway 8.
