Parks Canada said on Saturday that the Buhl Fire in Prince Albert National Park is currently located nine kilometres from Ramsay Bay, 12 km from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, 31 km from Waskesiu, 32 km from Bittern Lake, 35 km from Elk Ridge, and 38 km from McPhee Lake. (Parks Canada/Facebook)

By CKOM News

Saturday Update

Buhl Fire holds steady near Prince Albert National Park as crews gain ground

Jul 19, 2025 | 4:58 PM

The Buhl Fire near Prince Albert National Park has not advanced toward nearby communities, and containment efforts are starting to show results, Parks Canada said on Saturday.

No new evacuations have been issued, and conditions have stabilized compared to earlier in the week.

“There remains one fire in Prince Albert National Park at this time, the Buhl Fire, which spans the boundaries of the national park and provincial lands as well. That fire is at nearly 46,000 hectares today as it’s mapped,” said Gregg Walker, incident commander with Parks Canada said in a media briefing on July 19.

The fire remained nine kilometres from Ramsey Bay, 12 km from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, and over 30 kilometres from Waskesiu, Elk Ridge, and McPhee Lake.

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As of July 13, Waskesiu remained under a pre-evacuation alert. No alerts or orders were in effect for Elk Ridge or McPhee Lake.

Walker said fire lines were holding, thanks to a coordinated effort on the ground and more favourable weather conditions.

“We’re establishing some containment at specific fire lines … we’ve had some success with the equipment and people on the fire,” he said.

“The winds have been somewhat calmer than several days ago when the fire spread more significantly.”

The response effort involves 109 personnel, nine helicopters, and 11 pieces of heavy equipment working across both national park and provincial land. While the fire has grown in size, Parks Canada says it has not moved closer to any populated areas in recent days.

Walker added that collaboration with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has gone smoothly.

“There are systems in place for emergency management organizations like wildfire agencies to integrate on incidents like a wildfire … at this time we’re fully coordinated and fully integrated,” he said.

The only active evacuation is for vulnerable people from Montreal Lake Cree Nation. When asked whether evacuees would be returning home soon, Parks Canada said no timeline had been confirmed.

Officials continue to monitor the situation closely and are urging the public to stay informed as fire conditions can change rapidly. Parks Canada says it will provide further updates as needed.

Active fires in the province on July 19, 2025. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)

Fires in Saskatchewan on July 19

There were 51 active fires burning in the province on Saturday.

Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said in a 2 p.m. report that 12 of those blazes were not contained, while another 17 of the fires were under ongoing assessment and firefighters were protecting values in 16. Six fires were considered contained.

Contained means suppression action is taking place and the fire is not expected to grow in size, ongoing assessment means the fire is being monitored regularly to assess risk to values in the area and not contained means suppression action is taking place but the fire is expected to grow in size, according to SPSA. Protecting values means a fire is active and action is focused on protecting things like cabins and infrastructure.

As well, fire bans are active in 20 urban municipalities, 33 rural municipalities and five provincial parks in the province.

SPSA says there have been 379 fires in Saskatchewan so far in 2025. The five-year average to date for Saskatchewan wildfires is 298.

— with files from CJME News