Photo courtesy La Ronge Fire Department

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is reporting 15 active wildfires in the province. Seven are contained, five are not and three are under ongoing assessment, as of early Thursday morning. The uncontained fires are the Veremette, Shaw, Cinder, Cooper and Tippo firesa in the northwest. There have been 104 wildfires so far this year, while the five year average is 60 for this year. Ile a la Crosse, Buffalo Narrows and Beauval and surrounding areas are under an air quality advisory because of the smoke.

There is a special weather statement in effect for all of Alberta and most of British Columbia because of the unseasonably hot, dry conditions expected this weekend with highs in the high 20s and low 30s expected from Sunday through Tuesday, which is anywhere between 10 to 15 degrees above seasonal, and with that comes the risk of more wildfires and the risk of heat-related illness. In Alberta this year so far, there have been 426 wildfires. Eighty-two are active and 23 are uncontrolled. Six-thousand evacuees are back home, but 18-thousand residents are still on evacuation orders as the province remains under a state of emergency.
Nine First Nations in Alberta are being threatened by wildfires.

Saskatchewan uncontained fire map