Firefighters are actioning the Pisew fire burning near Hall Lake. (Facebook/Cook-Searson Tammy Jim)

By Austin Mattes

Wildfire update

Evacuation order for East Trout Lake, dry conditions keep province at high alert for wildfires

May 22, 2025 | 2:25 PM

With the weekend approaching, concerns for wildfires stay high in the province as the heat is expected to rise while the precipitation levels stay low.

In the East Trout Lake resort area, about 165 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, residents were issued an evacuation order on May 21 due to the possibility of the Camp and Shoe wildfires growing. A local state of emergency has also been declared.

The Camp and Shoe fires are still the biggest concern right now, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), but on the ‘Wildfires of Note’ daily bulletin, the SPSA listed Jaysmith, Pisew and Wolf as new fires of note.

The Camp fire, sparked on May 6 just north of Snowden, has grown to over 42,000 hectares and still burns out of control. The fire is currently being actioned with Type 1 and Type 2 crews, heavy equipment, air tankers with water and fire gels, helicopters and an emergency response team.

The Shoe fire around Lower Fishing Lake is 20,000 hectares in size and is uncontained. Highways in the area are still closed.

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Meanwhile, the pre-evacuation alert issued by the Resort Village of Candle Lake and Rural Municipality (RM) of Paddockwood have been lifted as crews continue to make progress in containing the fires burning in that area. The municipal and provincial fire bans still remain in effect.

The Pisew fire burning southwest of La Ronge is causing particular concern for the community of Hall Lake. The fire, which grew overnight from 700 to 5,000 hectares, is burning only four kilometres away from Hall Lake, however the wind is currently blowing the fire away from the community.

“We are getting prepared just in case because you never know with forecasts,” said Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) Chief Tammy Cook-Searson.

“They could change at any moment. We are getting buses ready. We will have Charlie’s Charters buses there on standby, and we’re also getting Red Cross ready just in case we have to evacuate.”

Currently, there are seven fire crews, two helicopters, two skimmers (water bombers) and a bird dog working the Pisew Fire. Later today, sprinklers will be set up on the west side of Hall Lake, and there will be training for Type 3 firefighters on Friday.

The Jaysmith fire started on May 19 Northeast of Missinipe from a lightning strike and has grown from 110 hectares to 1,000 in just a few days. The Wolf wildfire, west of Denare Beach, is currently 1,100 hectares. The McIlveena Mine Site is in the affected area and has been evacuated. Neither of those fires are contained.

The Pisew Fire is burning four kilometres from Hall Lake. (Facebook/Cook-Searson Tammy Jim)

In Northern Saskatchewan, the Fire Weather Index (FWI) remains high to extreme in most areas and the forecast is calling for sunny skies with a little chance of precipitation into the middle of next week, with temperatures reaching more than 30 C.

As of May 22, there is a total of 13 active wildfires across the province, with six of them considered not contained, five of them contained, and two of them still under ongoing assessment.

– with files from larongeNOW’s Derek Cornet

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes