Let It Burn Policy Still Mostly Intact
Friday, May 09, 2008 at 12:55
Despite repeatedly criticizing the previous NDP government’s forest fire policy, it appears the new Saskatchewan Party government has made minimal changes for the upcoming fire season.
Steve Roberts, the executive director of fire protection and forest management, says there are very few differences in Saskatchewan Environment’s approach this year.
Roberts says that while there have been some minor changes, as there are every year, there haven’t been any drastic alterations to programming.
The so-called “let it burn” policy allowed non-threatening fires to burn until they hit a 20-kilometre radius of any community, at which point aggressive action would be taken.
But Environment Minister Nancy Heppner says fire officials will now have the freedom to make the call to action a fire outside that zone if they feel a community could be threatened.
Heppner argues the 20-kilometre buffer zone was seen as a strict guideline under the NDP regime.
NDP Northern Affairs Critic Buckley Belanger says that is not the case, and accuses the new government of “fiddling around with words” to make it appear like a substantial change has been made.
Concerns over the policy arose following fire-related evacuations in northern Saskatchewan in recent years.