Village of Pinehouse evacuated as Muskeg fire creeps closer, Beauval evacuees return

Community members in the northern village of Pinehouse are being evacuated today as the Muskeg Fire approaches the area.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said non-essential residents in the Northern Village of Pinehouse are being evacuated as wildfire activity intensifies in the area.

SPSA’s Vice President of Operations, Steve Roberts, said the eastern edge of the Muskeg Fire is now approaching the community.

“That community will now be going under an evacuation order and removing all of their non-essential residents,” Roberts said during Tuesday’s media briefing.

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While Pinehouse joins the growing list of displaced communities, Roberts said Beauval is beginning to welcome residents back. The fire’s southern edge has been secured, allowing Phase 3 residents—those without significant health needs—to return.

“Individuals who are non-medical will be returning to Beauval starting today and occupying their community again,” he said.

Returning evacuees will receive some support from both local leaders and the provincial government.

Roberts said the SPSA is working to ensure key services like gas stations and health centres are operating again. The province will also provide evacuees with a $500 payment to help restock food and clean up damages caused by smoke.

Military members are also playing a major role. Lieutenant Colonel Jason Hudson, commander of the Canadian Armed Forces land task force, said 300 soldiers have been deployed to Saskatchewan under Operation LENTUS.

Teams are active in Beauval, La Loche and Île-à-la-Crosse.

“The response has been exceptionally fast, well coordinated and deeply rooted in the CAF’s commitment to serving Canada,” Hudson said, adding troops were welcomed “with open arms.”

Evacuations remain in place for more than 10 communities, including Jans Bay, Little Amyot Lake, Canoe Lake, Montreal Lake Cree Nation and English River First Nation.

Approximately 3,000 people are displaced.

Roberts said the province has not seen any additional property losses in the past week and a half, but the weather outlook is concerning.

He said no meaningful rain is in the forecast, and fire bans will remain in place for now.

“We do not see any quick reprieve from what we’re facing right now,” Roberts said. “There is still a lot of threat if it’s unattended.”

Fires in Saskatchewan on July 30

As of 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 56 active wildfires burned in Saskatchewan.

Twelve of those blazes were not contained, with another 27 under ongoing assessment and firefighters were protecting values in another 15. Two 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.

Notable fires not contained included the Shoe Fire near Lower Fishing Lake, the Pisew Fire west of La Ronge, the Wolf Fire west of Denare Beach, the Ditch Fire north of Weyakwin, the Muskeg Fire north of La Plonge Indian Reserve and Beauval, the Buhl Fire West of Weyakwin, the Trail Fire west of Beauval and the Park Fire north of La Loche.

By far the biggest of those is the Shoe Fire, which was first reported on May 7 and on Wednesday was listed as 554,667 ha, or just over 1,370,612 acres.

A fire ban remains in place due to the extreme fire risk. Fire bans are active in 17 urban municipalities, 25 rural municipalities and four provincial parks in the province.

The fire ban prohibits any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks within the designated boundary.

So far this year, there have been 406 wildfires in Saskatchewan. The five-year average is 333.