Murray Wood: Infrastructure projects are expensive, but important
Any time we try to build something, people start complaining about costs. Murray Wood says people are angry about the ov...
Rainfall in Prince Albert National Park on Monday has helped reduce the intensity of the Buhl Fire, Parks Canada says, and improved the smoky conditions for firefighters.
The Buhl Fire that was first spotted on June 29, was caused by a lightning strike and on Tuesday covered 95,456 hectares — 13,226 hectares within Prince Albert National Park, and 82,230 hectares on provincial Crown land.
Read more:
- Memories, valuables and hope found in Denare Beach wildfire ashes
- Full coverage of Saskatchewan Wildfires in 2025
The blaze is one of 84 wildfires that were burning in the province on Aug. 5, according to a 3 p.m. update from Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).
Parks Canada said in an update on Facebook on Aug. 5 that the northeast section of the Buhl Fire received varying amounts of spotty rain, ranging from 2.5 to 15 mm.
The blaze is holding at approximately just under one kilometre from Ramsey Bay, which received around 12 to 15 mm on Aug. 4.
The area covered by the Buhl Fire on Aug. 5, 2025. (Parks Canada)
An evacuation order is in effect for the Resort Subdivision of Ramsey Bay and Ramsey Bay Campground, where Parks Canada said ongoing structural protection operations are continuing, with additional crews and volunteer fire departments on-site.
Parks Canada, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and the several other supporting agencies from across the country are working together to fight the fire.
A pre-evacuation alert for Prince Albert National Park was reissued on Aug. 1 , because Parks Canada said the fire that has “potential to cause emergency situations for the public,” including deteriorating air quality and or visibility due to wildfire smoke.
The fire was just over 30 km from Waskesiu on Tuesday.
On Monday, firefighting crews had improved visibility which Parks Canada said allowed bucketing and skimmer aircraft to work.
Firefighters were also continuing direct suppression as well as extinguishing hotspots that had been identified by aerial infrared scanning.
As well, crews removed some “danger trees” in key areas of the southeastern and eastern fire perimeter to ensure a safer working environment and a new helipad was completed in the southeast, improving access for fire crews.
There are 161 personnel not including additional Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency support staff working on the Buhl Fire, assisted by 11 helicopters and the team also has access to additional air support, including air tankers, water tenders, and heavy equipment, Parks Canada said.
Prince Albert National Park fire supression work continued on Aug. 4, 2025. (Parks Canada/Facebook)
Fires burning in Saskatchewan on Aug. 5
SPSA said in its 3 p.m. report that of those 84 fires burning 16 were not contained, while another 44 of the fires were under ongoing assessment and firefighters were protecting values in 18. Only six fires were considered contained.
As well as the Buhl Fire, significant fires that are not contained include the Shoe Fire near Lower Fishing Lake, the Pisew Fire west of La Ronge, the Ditch Fire north of Weyakwin, the Muskeg Fire north of La Plonge Indian Reserve and Beauval, the Trail Fire west of Beauval, and the Park Fire north of La Roche.
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 15 urban municipalities, 20 rural municipalities and four provincial parks in the province.
The rainfall has reduced the fire danger to low or moderate in all but west-central areas of Saskatchewan, where it remains high.
SPSA says there have been 445 fires in Saskatchewan so far in 2025. The five-year average to date for Saskatchewan wildfires is 351.
Read more:
