Some Saskatchewan rural municipalities already have fire bans in place as dry windy conditions result in ideal fire conditions.
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said May 1 it is prepared for the 2023 fire season. Chief executive officer Marlo Pritchard said although the snowmelt is still underway, there are still areas with moderate to severe drought.
“The dry conditions throughout 2022 resulted in areas of the province going into winter with drier than normal soil moisture conditions,” he said. “Temperature wise, the forecast for spring is to be cooler than average, except for the southwest corner which may experience near normal conditions.”
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He said the agency anticipates a slower start to wildfire season, and colder temperatures can impact the size and speed of fires.
“However, southern Saskatchewan has a higher risk of grass fires occurring in the spring, and the grassfire risk remains elevated in the southwest corner as this area remains very dry,” he said.
Overall, models suggest the entire province will see warmer than average temperatures from May through to October, and that could mean more fires.
This year there have already been 39 wildfires; nine were active on May 1 and eight of those were contained.
The RMs of Mervin, Frenchman Butte, Duck Lake and Vanscoy have bans in place.
Steve Roberts, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s vice-president of operations, said while RMs hold primary responsibility for fire in the south and have access to mutual aid, they can also request help from the agency if needed.
“We do have one fire south of the forest that has occurred that had both municipal fire departments from the local jurisdiction, mutual aid agreements and public safety agency staff were also involved in the response to that grassland fire,” he said.
About half of the wildfires in Saskatchewan each year are human-caused, and lightning causes the rest. At this time of year there usually isn’t any lightning, Pritchard said, and everyone should take extra fire precautions until green-up occurs. This includes cleaning up around yards and buildings to remove potential fire fuel such as dead grass and branches.
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