Premier Scott Moe has declared a state of emergency for the province of Saskatchewan due to wildfires.
The premier announced the state of emergency at a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency media event in Prince Albert Thursday afternoon.
“It’s a very serious situation, that we’re faced with in Saskatchewan,” said the Premier. “We do need some rainfall. We need that sooner rather than later. And in light of that not being in the forecast, we most certainly are putting in place, every measure possible to prepare our communities and prepare those that live in our northern communities that are threatened by these wildfires in the days ahead.”
The state of emergency will be in affect for 14 days and can be extended if necessary.
With it, Saskatchewan will receive fire fighting support from across the country.
Moe says he hasn’t yet asked for military support from the federal government, but says they wouldn’t hesitate to ask if needed.
“We may in the days ahead,” he said.
The premier also encouraged any evacuees with firefighting experience and training to identify themselves to officials as they may be used in the firefighting efforts.
Currently there are 17 active wildfires in the province and nearly 6,000 people have been evacuated from 15 different communities.
The provincial fire ban remains in place and the province says a possible ATV restriction may be put in as well.
In the meantime, the SPSA says they are doing a review of their alert system as an alert on the Weyakwin evacuation was sent out in error on Wednesday night.
While the information in the alert was correct, the map of the evacuated area included the City of Prince Albert causing concern for many residents.
The SPSA described the mistake in the alert as human error.
(TOP PHOTO: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. File Photo)