Despite recent moisture in parts of Alberta and southern Saskatchewan,
five years of dry conditions have left forests and grassland vulnerable
to fires.
For many areas between Lethbridge, Alta., and Prince Albert, Sask., it
is the driest 18-month period since 1885, according to Agriculture
Canada statistics.
“Everyone has to think long and hard about fire this year,” said
Malcolm McLeod of Saskatchewan’s environment department.
His department has fought more early season fires in the forested area
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this year than any other in recent memory. Drought in the north, has
left Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta a tinderbox.
In Saskatchewan the provincial fire centre has dealt with 337 fires to
June 1 this season, compared to 282 last year and the five-year average
of 211.
“That should tell you how dry it is. Lightning is just starting (for
the season) and that should really challenge things. We can hope that
people working or travelling are extra careful because there is the
very real danger of our resources being overwhelmed this year,” he said.
So far this year in Saskatchewan, 250 of the fires the provincial
environment department has responded to were caused by people, he said.
On May 31, the department issued a province-wide fire ban that outlaws
open fire within 4.5 kilometres of a provincial forest or park.
For producers operating within the buffer zones, all permits for open
fires or burning have been revoked.
In Alberta, a handful of fires near Calgary and Rocky Mountain House
did little damage, but in northern regions there have been significant
losses of timber and rangeland.
A large fire north of Bonnyville caused several hundred residents and
more than 2,000 area camp workers to be removed from the area.
A fire ban for northern Alberta stretches from Bonnyville to
Whitecourt, affecting farms and ranches, mining and lumber concessions,
and recreational areas.
Municipal fire bans are in place in 23 Alberta municipalities beginning
along the Saskatchewan border from Special Areas 2, 3 and 4 north of
Medicine Hat to Fort McMurray and the east-central region from Oyen to
Edmonton. Also included are the areas around Slave Lake and Grande
Prairie.
