Efforts are continuing by crews fighting the wildfires that erupted this week northeast of Prince Albert.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency provided an update on the situation in a media conference on Wednesday morning.
According to the agency, the 鈥淐loverdale fire鈥� is still not contained and now exceeds 3,700 hectares in size. The fire had grown overnight, according to SPSA Vice-President of Operations Steve Roberts. The growth continues to the east and northeast, and the fire has crossed highway 55.
Roberts reported that the Public Safety Agency has put in an incident management team, Which is a group of specialists that are specifically assigned to manage this fire incident. They are working in a unified command structure with Prince Albert Fire Department, who are leading the protection of the housing acreages in the area that are being impacted.
The resourcing for the fire continues to grow, Roberts said. SPSA are responding with five helicopters, multiple air tankers and heavy equipment, alongside the Prince Albert Fire Department and Buckland Fire Department. Crew and manpower are being added on the ground as well.
As for damage, some logging operations have been impacted by the fire and the public safety agency had a report of a office trailer that was damaged, as well as power pole infrastructure damage as well. The fire has not yet reached the pulp mill, but is at the edge of the clearance area at the perimeter.
No homes have been destroyed as of today, however there have been evacuations. Joan Hrycyk of Emergency and Crisis Support reported they are supporting 45 people who have been displaced by the fire.
Evacuated residents are able to access services at the Margo Fournier Centre. Those who haven鈥檛 registered are urged to do so at that location.
SPSA are providing support such as food, clothing, shelter and other necessities.
Joel Cherry of SaskPower reported there were some positive developments, with power restored to 1,000 customers located between Spruce Home and Christopher Lake.
Those customers are not directly fed by the main line that remains down, affecting 8,000 other customers. Cherry said their crews have finally been cleared to enter the affected area and will start working 24/7 until the power is restored. No additional structures were damaged in addition to the 15 that were damaged on Tuesday. Cherry said if fire conditions don鈥檛 impede them they could potentially have power restored in the next day or so.
Roberts reported that the weather system that had been forecasted is moving in with generally cooler weather and a drastic change in temperatures. Those cooler weather trends are expected for the next few days and 鈥渨ill be extremely helpful for crews on the ground in suppression efforts to continue to build on the containment of the large fires.鈥�
There were six active fires in the province as of Wednesday; three were contained and three I contained. There have been 114 fires in the province to date this year, up from 93.
For those going to and from Prince Albert, highway 55 is closed, and the Pulp Haul Road a crossover road that cuts across, is closed as well. There are people manning those barricades. The best source of information is Highway Hotline, which will have the latest updates on which roads are open or closed.
