Three large forest fires are burning in northern Saskatchewan.
Each fire is larger than 1,500 hectares in size, and all are within 100 kilometres of Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach. All three were sparked earlier this month by lightning strikes.
Despite the size of the fires, none are currently considered to be a threat to Flin Flon or other area communities. The fire closest to Flin Flon, located north of Kisseynew Lake, is between 15 and 20 kilometres north of the city.
“It is not being perceived as being a significant threat to the community, unless something changes,” said city administrator Mark Kolt. “I guess we’ve been rather fortunate with where this fire is located. It’s on the north side of Kisseynew, which at that point basically runs east-west,” he said. “Kisseynew Lake is a pretty significant barrier to the fire progressing rapidly anywhere.”
As of Tuesday morning, the Kisseynew Lake fire had expanded to 1900 hectares, according to Saskatchewan Wildlife Management.
The fire is still growing toward the northeast, near – and in some places, over – the Manitoba border. Growth at the fire’s southern points has been contained.
Fires further away from Flin Flon at Jan Lake and Granite Lake have also expanded, growing to 1900 hectares and 2761 hectares respectively.
All three fires are currently considered “not contained” by Wildfire Management. Water bombers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan have been called in to help extinguish the fires, with two from each province currently in active service.
Smoke
As a result of the fires, Flin Flon residents have been dealing with on-and-off periods of thick, smelly smoke, coming to and leaving the area due to humidity and wind patterns.
Environment Canada said the smoke comes not only from fires burning near Flin Flon, but also from a number of other fires burning in the far north.
“Diminished air quality associated with the smoke resulting from forest fires burning in the region and from the fires currently burning south of Great Slave Lake may amplify health impacts resulting from the heat,” according to an Environment Canada statement.
“The spreading of the smoke has been relatively manageable so far,” said Kolt. “So far, so good, relatively speaking.”
“We can get into a situation where people with breathing vulnerabilities are put into a deeply uncomfortable or unsafe situation. So far, the perception is that we haven’t reached that sort of point.”
Fire ban
The City of Flin Flon has announced a fire ban for the entire Flin Flon area.
Any lighting of fires, including campfires and solid fuel barbecues, is prohibited under the ban, as is the use of some
industrial tools.
Fire bans have also been instituted in Creighton and in Denare Beach, where signs with the words “fire ban in effect” have been put up around the village.
