Fire bans start to take effect across Saskatchewan following grass fires

A fast-moving grass fire near Radisson, Sask., has highlighted growing wildfire risks across Saskatchewan, as dry and windy conditions continue to fuel fire concerns.

Charred grass and fallen trees now mark the path the fire took through a local campground Sunday, burning dangerously close to the community and forcing the evacuation of one nearby home.

Fire Chief Nathan Halischuk commented on the conditions leading to this fire.

“It was a warmer day, the humidity was low. It ended up getting close to crossover, and then with the fire in the shed there it was just perfect conditions for it to move,” said Halischuk

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The fire was put out by Radisson’s fire department with mutual aid help from Dalmeny and Langham.

“We had Dalmeny and Langham doing structure protection for the house that was in immediate danger, and we were able to put out the grass and trees and everything else,” said Halischuk.

As of Tuesday morning, 11 rural municipalities were under fire ban status. Corman Park is one of the larger RMs in the province and is split into divisions. According to RM Chief Administrative Officer Kerry Hiltz, some of those divisions are under fire bans, while the conditions in others are not as severe.

“Certain divisions did get a ban, some don’t have the ban right now. Those areas with the dry conditions, a lot more bush, a lot more grass ended up with the ban,” said Hiltz.

He says that until conditions improve, the bans are likely to remain in place.

“The biggest thing when you put a ban into place is to prevent those catastrophic incidents from happening, the biggest thing is protection of property, and we go from there. When we make those decisions, we want to see conditions improve,” said Hiltz.

The forecast shows an increase in temperatures across most of the province into midweek. People are urged to check local government sources for fire bans before burning.