Officials from Saskatchewan Environment are busy preparing for the upcoming forest firefighting season.
With the cool spring and recent snowfall, conditions are more damp than usual this year.
Steve Roberts is the executive director of the Wildfire Management Program based in Prince Albert.
He says there have already been a few fires reported but there is average to above-average snow across the northern forest.
Roberts says water bomber pilots and aircrews are already preparing.
“We bring them back first thing in the spring so our seasonal crews have been brought back and hired, we’ve got out contracts in place for specialized resources like helicopters, we’ve done our staff training, we’ve been doing some training with our air crews, and all the aircraft have been maintained over the winter so they are ready for an operational season,” he says.
Roberts says the province’s new system of using cameras in fire towers instead of human spotters is also ready to go.
Recruiting for firefighting ground crews begins in January and February and many are now being interviewed and trained.
Throughout the summer there will also be more jobs available for firefighters.