Steve Roberts, VP of Operations (SPSA) and Lt. Col. Jason Hudson at a wildfire briefing near Prince Albert on July 30. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Wildfire 2025

High temps with wind changes don’t bode well for fire situation

Jul 30, 2025 | 3:37 PM

Even with the addition of hundreds of Type 3 firefighters from Canada’s armed forces, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is on edge in the face of five days of 30-degree weather coming.

SPSA Vice President of Operations, Steve Roberts spoke to media along with Lieutenant Colonel Jason Hudson of the Canadian Armed Forces about the current situation.

“Plus 30 weather is going to cause the fire behaviour to grow,” Roberts said. “The concern will be the wind that comes with it. High winds will be problematic because the fires will move rapidly.”

It was that kind of weather that led to the burning of Denare Beach and other properties in June. Shifting winds that change the fire’s direction are also a concern.

The Muskeg Fire, which is north of La Plonge and Beauval is closing in on 300,000 hectares is one such case as one community is to the north and another is to the south.

Budget Deliberations

City of Melfort draft operating budget sees 3.36% property tax increase

16h ago

Fatal accident

Winnipeg man dies after vehicle rolls near Lanigan: RCMP

Nov 07, 2025

Snowy Skies

First snowfall of season blankets much of Central Sask, but it won't be sticking around

Nov 06, 2025

“As we move resources to try and anticipate the wind and weather and the fire behaviour, we have to be prepared to move them back and re-shift our priorities if needed,” said Roberts.

That fire is one of the three that has had Canadian Armed Forces Type 3 crews added to the response.

Hudson said the military includes their equivalent of Type 3 ability as part of their regular training now.

“The Canadian Armed forces are proud to stand with the people of Saskatchewan during this challenging wildfire season,” he said.

In addition to Beauval, military personnel are stationed in Wekaykwin and La Loche.

“This support enables in place provincial wildfire teams to focus efforts on more critical areas,” Hudson said. “The response has been exceptionally fast, well co-ordinated and deeply rooted.”

Roberts said when the province called in military help during the 2015 wildfire season, it took three days to train the soldiers to be Type 3 wildland fighters and having to wait resulted in a valuable policy change.

Now, the military does it as a matter of course so there is no delay when they are deployed.

“It is an added layer of training that we received. We have a unit we call an immediate reaction unit that’s always on standby, particularly during the vulnerable times of the year and pre-emptively we conduct Type 3 or we call it 2100 with our internal military firefighters,” Hudson said.

The SPSA is providing the equipment and gear, such as hand tools and small pump and PPE.

Some recent flareups have closed roads for periods of time. Travellers can check the status of the road on the Highway Hotline app or website.

Residents of Beauval returned home today after almost 30 days of being evacuated but about 3,000 remain out of their homes across the north. Canada Post is returning to full service in Beauval the same day but the delivery service alert for Patuanak remains in place.

The Canadian Red Cross announced financial help for eligible Saskatchewan evacuees on July 30.

The program was possible because of a $15 million commitment from the provincial government.

Money will given directly to eligible households who are not members of a First Nation community. First Nation households can get assistance through their community leaders.

Households will be given $750 as a one-time help if their home was in a community with an evacuation that lasted longer than seven days and where the evacuation has already been lifted.

Extended support of $2,000 will be given to households that have been evacuated for longer than seven days and are unable to return home for 30 days.

The money is intended to help pay for food, lodging and transportation.

When the extended evacuees return home, they can also apply for re-entry assistance.

Eligible households must be registered with the Red Cross.

—

susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social