Firefighters contain wildfire at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park

A wildfire that broke out at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park on Saturday is now contained. 

As of 1:45 p.m. CST, the fire at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, about 25 kilometres northeast of Moose Jaw, was listed as contained on the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's active wildfire map.

William Tipper, a park ranger, received word of a potential fire near the Nicolle Flats area at about 4:00 p.m. CST on Saturday. 

"So I drove out and I could see the smoke from a couple kilometres out and as I got closer, [it] just got more and more clear that it was a fire," Tipper said. "We got an assessment of where the fire was, how big of a fire it was and where the best access points were for the local fire teams."

Park personnel then called the Moose Jaw Fire Department for help. Crews from the Bethune and Lumsden volunteer fire departments helped with suppression efforts.

A Moose Jaw Fire Department spokesperson said firefighters spent about seven hours battling the fire before containing it at about 11 p.m. CST on Saturday. 

Park personnel were monitoring the area on Sunday for smouldering or flare ups. 

The park remains open with a fire ban in place, but the road leading to the Nicolle Flats area and the bison range was closed as of 1:30 p.m. CST on Sunday. No evacuations were necessary on Saturday.   

Tipper says if the fire flares up again, park personnel will act to ensure everyone is safe and evacuate if necessary. He added an investigator is coming to the park to determine the cause of the fire. 

The Moose Jaw Fire Department spokesperson said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency will be investigating the fire. 

Ozgur Ay spent Sunday cycling at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park. 

"It was smoky in the morning as well, little bit irritated [by the smoke], but we're still enjoying it here," Ay said. "We biked for about two hours, its been fun, but the smoke is easy to notice."

Buffalo Pound Provincial Park isn't the only smoky place in Saskatchewan on Sunday. 

Wildfire smoke has prompted Environment and Climate Change Canada to issue special air quality statements for many parts of the province including Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Swift Current and Moose Jaw.