Sask. wildfires have already burned 900K hectares of forest so far this year: SPSA
CBC
Wildfires continue to rage out of control in northern Saskatchewan, and have now burned almost 1,000,000 hectares of the province's forest so far this year and forced thousands of people from their homes.
"Based on the estimates right now we're looking at over 900,000 hectares in the province so far this year," Steve Roberts, vice-president of operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), said in an update Thursday when asked how much forest had burned this year so far.
For context, the entire province of Prince Edward Island is about 568,000 hectares.
New fires are starting daily, according to the SPSA. Three new fires started Thursday alone, and the massive Shoe fire in the Narrow Hills was estimated to be about 471,000 hectares in size as of late Thursday morning.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were 27 fires burning in Saskatchewan, six of them not contained, according to the SPSA.
The fires continue to pose new threats daily.
Late Thursday afternoon, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) issued a mandatory evacuation order for people living in Sikachu Lake and Clam Bridge, saying wildfire was moving quickly toward the communities.
The SPSA's website lists seven fires that are "large, complex or located close to communities." The combined sizes of those seven fires, as of Thursday morning, was more than 1,000,000 hectares, according to the site.
The Pisew fire, west of La Ronge, grew to 141,000 hectares. Roberts said the winds weren't as strong Wednesday, which helped slow the fire's progress.
"Instead of seeing the fire move three to eight kilometres, yesterday we were seeing the fire move maybe a kilometre or a kilometre-and-a-half."
That gave firefighters a chance to work on building firebreaks and other suppression methods, he said.
SPSA officials are estimating the fires have forced as many as 15,000 people to flee the north.
A hodgepodge of supports has been a source of frustration for many evacuees. Some say they have had trouble getting through to the Red Cross or the SPSA to register.
Viviana Ruiz Arcand is in Saskatoon after evacuating from La Ronge. She said there's big holes in the available supports and people are struggling.
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