There are wildfires in the Hudson Bay area, and that is where the smoke in the air is coming from. Air tanker and helicopter support are part of the firefighting efforts. Environment Canada says the smoke will dissipate later this week. Some of the values that are threatened or being monitored, according to the SPSA, are Wildcat Hill Provincial Park, Commercial Timber, Highway 9 to the east, Highway 55 to the north and Highway 3 to the south.

As of 1:30 Monday afternoon, there were 12 active fires in the province. Seven are not contained, three are contained, one wildfire has actions focused on protecting properties and one fire is being monitored. So far this year, there have been 604 wildfires, as compared to the five year average of 299.

There is a fire ban in effect for all provincial Crown lands including provincial parks for most of east-central Saskatchewan. It is due to hot, dry conditions and increasing fire activity. Vice-President of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Steve Roberts, points out that with hunting season comes more human activity and as a result more human-caused fire starts. “The SPSA encourages all residents, including hunters, to exercise caution to prevent fire starts and for all municipalities to examine the fire risk in their area.”

The fire ban includes any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks within all areas:

South of Highway #106 from the Manitoba border to Highway #55;
South of Highway #55 from Highway #106 to Prince Albert;
East of Highway #2 from Prince Albert to Highway #5; and
North of Highway #5 to the Manitoba border.
It also includes all land within 4.5 km of the provincial forest boundary.