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Saskatchewan’s premier is planning to share an update on wildfires in the province on Thursday afternoon.
650 CKOM will carry the update from Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency live at 1:30 p.m. Click here to listen.
Read More:
- Thousands evacuated as wildfires burn in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
- ‘If a fire gets in here, I don’t know where it stops’: Candle Lake resident
- Sask. wildfire update: SPSA reports some progress despite losses
- Manitoba premier declares state of emergency over wildfires, says military aid coming
- Sask. wildfire update: SPSA reports some progress despite losses
According to the public safety agency, there are currently 17 wildfires burning in the province. Saskatchewan has seen 206 wildfires so far this year, which is 61 more than the same date in 2024 and well ahead of the five-year average of 125.
A total of 15 communities around the province are under evacuation orders, and the vast majority of the province was rated as an “extreme” fire risk, according to the agency’s website.
The vast majority of the province was rated as an “extreme” fire risk, according to the SPSA’s website. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)
Three Saskatchewan First Nations – the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Montreal Lake Cree Nation – also declared a joint state of emergency in response to wildfires, citing “critical shortages” in firefighting resources, personnel and air support.
According to a joint release by the three First Nations, communities including Pelican Narrows, South End and Denare Beach are under threat from wildfires, with evacuation orders expected. Wildfires threatening the communities have grown to more than 75,000 hecatres in size, and continue to spread due to dry conditions and changing winds.
The Weather Network is predicting a warmer-than-normal summer across the Prairies, which is expected to increase the risk from wildfires.
Candle Lake Mayor Colleen Lavoie said the wildfire burning to the east of the resort village is “a big one.” (Debe Billay/Submitted)
Carla Beck, leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, has called on Moe to follow the lead of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and declare a state of emergency in the province order to receive emergency military aid from Ottawa.
“We’re calling on Premier Scott Moe and the Minister of Public Safety to immediately declare a province-wide state of emergency and commit to daily public briefings to ensure all essential — potentially lifesaving — information reaches people impacted by this wildfire crisis in Saskatchewan’s North,” Beck said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“Every available resource in our province and our country must be deployed to fight these fires — the safety of our families and the future of our communities are at stake.”
–with files from The Canadian Press
