The Saskatchewan government has implemented a fire ban in all provincial parks and crown land, effective immediately. The fire risk throughout the province is extreme, including in the agricultural areas. A ban means no open fires, controlled burns or fireworks. There are 18 wildfires currently burning in the province, all of them in the North. […] Read more
Tag Archives wildfire
Controlled fires can prevent wildfires: research
Prescribed burns at a conservation site in Saskatchewan help researchers understand importance of fire on the prairie
Bone-dry conditions have put a damper on further research using fire at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in southwestern Saskatchewan. A prescribed burn this fall, organized by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and University of Saskatchewan, was cancelled. “We’re not considering a burn right now. It’s just not safe. It’s […] Read more
Alberta ag minister visits the big burn
Producers near Hilda, Alta., tell Oneil Carlier that recovery from last year’s wildfire has begun, but it will be slow
The area near Hilda, Alta., that burned last fall in a wildfire is no longer black but damage to pasture and cropland remains evident. Andy Kirschenman, whose family sustained crop, equipment and building losses in the fire, including his parents’ home, said recovery has begun but it will be slow. “It’s hurt, you can tell,” […] Read more
Alberta ag minister visits the big burn
The area near Hilda, Alta., that burned last fall in a wildfire is no longer black but damage to pasture and cropland remains evident. Andy Kirschenman, whose family sustained crop, equipment and building losses in the fire, including his parents’ home, said recovery has begun but it will be slow. “It’s hurt, you can tell,” […] Read more
Prairies brace for new fire season
Know the risks
Tinder-dry conditions this spring might have residents of southwestern Saskatchewan a little more on edge than usual. It’s been seven months since the Oct. 17 wildfires that the province’s fire commissioner has described as catastrophic. The area is typically dry, but after a summer with below normal rainfall, it was drier than usual. That evening, […] Read more
A land heals after devastating fire
As the dust devils dance in southeastern Alberta, farmers in the Hilda, Schuler and Acadia Valley areas plant seeds and hope for quick germination and roots that will cling to the soil. They’re planting into land ravaged by an October prairie wildfire that burned more than 25,500 cultivated acres in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Amid flames […] Read more
Army base improves communications after fire
AFTERMATH CFB Suffield was blamed for a fire in Alberta last September that killed 120 cattle and scorched thousands of acres
Tempers were almost as hot as fire last year when residents from the Bindloss, Alta., area met to discuss a Sept. 11-12 prairie fire that spread from Canadian Forces Base Suffield. The blaze burned down one rancher’s home, killed about 120 cattle, burned winter feed supplies and scorched thousands of acres of native grassland and […] Read more
Fires continue to take toll on injured farmers
The scars of Oct. 17, 2017, won’t soon fade for those caught in prairie wildfires that night. The Hargrave family lost 35-year-old James, a rancher and volunteer firefighter with the Walsh, Alta., department, in an accident during the fire near Hilda, Alta. Father and son, Ron and Evan Wedrick of Carmichael, Sask., were severely injured […] Read more
Sask. offers wildfire assistance for grazing land
Saskatchewan producers affected by wildfires will be eligible for some coverage under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program after all. The government had said that typically PDAP didn’t cover insurable losses. However, Government Relations Minister Larry Doke announced Dec. 6 that grazing land would be covered. “Tame and native grazing lands are not insurable,” he said […] Read more
Officials determining cause of Alta.-Sask. wildfire
Cause of the fire that killed livestock and destroyed buildings and fences may determine compensation strategy
The cause of an Oct. 17 wildfire that began near Hilda, Alta., and spread into Saskatchewan is likely to determine what assistance is available to farmers and ranchers who sustained losses. Alberta’s Office of the Fire Commissioner is still investigating the cause amid unconfirmed reports that the wind reignited embers in a fire pit used […] Read more
