Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the big news stories and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said on Monday that more than 350 structures and other items of value have been lost to wildfires in the province, and that number could rise to more than 500 once an inventory of Denare Beach has been completed.
SPSA vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said he expects to have a more firm idea of the damage in the community on Highway 167, around 20 kilometres south-west of Flin Flon, MB, on Tuesday.
Read more:
- Full coverage of Saskatchewan Wildfires in 2025
- Weekend rain helps firefighters battling flames in northern Saskatchewan
- Saskatchewan raises $643,156 in one day for wildfire relief
“We are seeing and still expect to see a structure loss exceeding 500,” Roberts said.
Creighton and Denare Beach remain under mandatory evacuation orders because of the Wolf Fire first reported on May 6.
On Monday the agency said it was still not contained and 130,822 ha (just over 323, 268 acres or nearly six times the size of the city of Saskatoon) on the Saskatchewan side of the provincial border.
Also under mandatory evacuation orders were East Trout Lake and Whelan Bay because of the massive Shoe Fire, which was also not contained and 554,484 ha (around 1.3 million acres or bigger than the area of Prince Albert National Park and the City of Saskatoon combined).
Fire bans in the province on June 16, 2025. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)
Provincial Fire ban lifted
Roberts also said on Monday that the province is set to lift its fire ban from 5 p.m. Monday as firefighters continue to make significant progress on many wildfires and Mother Nature showers the province with rain.
“The weather has also provided enough reprieve that we will be rescinding the fire ban … we believe we have enough precipitation and lower hazards across the province … ,” he said.
Dry conditions in the province led SPSA to put a fire ban in place across much of northern Saskatchewan on May 9, stretching from the provincial forest boundary north up to the Churchill River.
The ban will be lifted on all Crown lands, provincial parks, and provincial recreation sites located north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River, along with the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District, SPSA said.
This means the fire ban is being lifted in communities like La Ronge, Buffalo Narrows and La Loche.
When it comes to other fire bans across the province, it will be up to the municipalities to decide whether or not to lift them.
SPSA, along with other Saskatchewan local authorities, such as a municipality, park or First Nations, have the authority to issue their own fire bans.
Active fires in the province on June 16, 2025. (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency)
Progress made on many fires
The agency said its crews are continuing to make progress on the wildfire front in northern Saskatchewan.
As of 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon, SPSA said there were 13 active wildfires in Saskatchewan, five of which are not contained.
Four of the contained fires include two that were previously out of control, according to Roberts.
“Both the Pelican 2 Fire and the Ditch Fire are now officially listed as contained, in other words not expected to spread beyond current boundaries,” said Roberts.
“Work continues on our other significant fires at this time, including some of the larger fires using both internal resources, type three firefighters, contractors and resources we have brought in from other locations.”
Roberts said the fires that are not contained appear to be slowing down.
“No significant movement on those fires, but lots and lots of activity by folks hoping to achieve containment and security on those large fires while we have the favourable weather … we do not expect to see these continue knowing that at some point this summer it is going to warm up again,” Roberts said.
Two of the active fires are under ongoing assessments and another two are forcing firefighters to protect property.
—with files from CKOM News
—Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to indicate that the SPSA’s estimates covered the entire province, rather than just Denare Beach, and to indicate that the estimate includes all items of value rather than just structures.
Read more:
