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Residents of the Resort Village of Candle Lake have been asked to prepare for a possible evacuation order due to two wildfires burning to the east of the community.
According to a statement issued by the resort village on Thursday, there is no immediate danger, but residents of the community northeast of Prince Albert were advised to “stay alert and begin planning for a potential evacuation,” which could come with very little notice.
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The Saskatchewan Public Safety agency is providing support “in the event the situation escalates beyond our capacity,” the village added.
Residents were advised to organize accommodation outside the community, ensure vehicles are fueled and ready for travel, and prepare an emergency kit.
The community said frequent updates will be posted on its website and Facebook page.
Bryan Chartrand, executive director of land operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, said the nearest was burning about 25 kilometres away from Candle Lake on Thursday morning.
Altogether, Chartrand said 118 pieces of heavy equipment, along with helicopters and air tankers are working to douse both wildfires near the lake.
“We’ll continue our efforts and hope it doesn’t get any closer, but it will be smoky in those areas for the next couple of days,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Welcome Back to the Lake event set for Saturday will go on as planned, the municipality added.
“If you are planning to be at the lake this weekend, please consider these precautions and watch for updates.”
According to the public safety agency, there are currently 11 wildfires burning in Saskatchewan, though no evacuation orders have been issued. Of the 11 active fires, five are considered contained, five are uncontained, and one is being assessed.
Chartrand said that’s an improvement from last week, when 24 fires were burning, though he’s still hoping for more rain.
“A week ago it was getting a little hectic,” he said.
“We had a lot more fires, and they’re burning a lot more aggressively. But again, with some of this reprieve, the lower temperatures and some of the rain that we received on the west side, we were able to get them contained.”
So far this season, Saskatchewan has seen 155 wildfires, well ahead of the five-year average of 96 but on par with the number of fires from 2024.
Chartrand encouraged campers to be cautious over the long weekend, and check for any fire bans in their area.
Since the beginning of the wildfire season, Chartrand said morale had stayed high for firefighters.
“They’re all out there working hard, like they always do, but eventually we are hoping for the rain, because we will get staff burnout,” he said.
“Naturally, you feel defeated when you work hard all day and it feels like you never got anywhere.”
Meanwhile, wildfires have forced the closure of campsites in the Narrow Hills Provincial Park, which will remain closed until at least May 29.
–with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie
