The Fort McMurray fire in early May. Photo courtesy Facebook
The Alberta wildfire described as an “uncontrollable beast” is expected to cross into Saskatchewan shortly.
Right now, it’s stalled in Alberta, about 5 km from the border.
The blaze has now consumed more than 4,200 square kilometres of forest and caused an estimated $9 billion in damage to Fort McMurray.
Saskatchewan crews already know how big and unpredictable it is. For the last few weeks, Saskatchewan firefighters have been working with Alberta crews to contain the fire near the border.
The province’s commissioner of emergency planning, Duane McKay, says the weather has been holding the fire back.
“It obviously has a mind of its own in terms of where it wants to go,” he says. “We don’t anticipate rapid movement. Weather forecasts are indicating that over the next few days, winds are going to shift from the east and that will stop the forward movement. And perhaps, with any luck, cause the fire to burn back on itself.”
The closest Saskatchewan community is La Loche, about 30 km from the fire. Acting Deputy Environment Minister Kevin Murphy does not see the fire as a big threat to the community.
“Smoke is our main concern from this fire at this time,” he says. “A number of factors alleviate the fire as a risk to the community. Fire guards are in place, we have had a significant amount of fire activity in that area as recently as last year which has significantly reduced the fuel load in front of it, and we have the lake as a major guard to the community, as well.”
There is some good news in the forecast. Rain is predicted in the Fort McMurray area over the next few days. In Saskatchewan, the fire threat remains extreme — although there will be a break from the smoke today because of a change in wind direction.
As of today, there are only six wildfires burning in Saskatchewan and all of them are under control. So far this year, there have been 150 wildfires. There were 146 fires at the same time last year.