The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is encouraging everyone in the north evacuated due to wildfires to follow orders and stay away until informed otherwise.
Steve Roberts, with the SPSA, encouraged everyone to follow direction of their leadership as he says things can change drastically.
“If you have been asked to evacuate, kindly do so at the earliest opportunity, and once evacuated, unless asked to return, please make all efforts to stay out,” said Roberts. “We really encourage folks to follow the directions of their local leadership, follow the recommendations of the highway hotline. It is going to make our life, easier to manage these wildfires and it will also keep, the population safer as we have to manage during this critical time.”
The SPSA says 24 active fires are burning in the province with 243 this year to date, well above the 5-year average.
Officials say weather conditions are mostly hot and dry with wind in the past few days causing fires to move quickly.
The SPSA says light precipitation hit some areas, but not enough to make a dent in the fires, and some of these areas included lightning leading to more fires.
The largest fire in the province remains the Shoe fire near Lower Fishing Lake.
The most destructive fire is said to be the Wolf fire that has destroyed multiple structures in Denare Beach.
The SPSA says there are 34 total evacuations in the province, an estimated 10-15 thousand people have been evacuated, and over 400 structures have been destroyed.
The Robertson Trading Post and Rona building centre in La Ronge are among the buildings reported to be destroyed.
The SPSA also says they have not reached out for military support as they want to focus on firefighting efforts.
“Currently we are only comfortable using fully trained fire fighters on these fires,” said Roberts. “These are fires that are not stable enough to use personnel without significant firefighting training.”