skwildfires2025

The 2025 wildfire season is already one of the worst on record for Canada and there is a high risk that more fires will break out in August, federal officials said on Friday.

More than 5.5 million hectares of land have burned so far this year, more than double the 10-year average for mid-July.

That is still well behind the record fire season in 2023, when more than 6,000 fires burned more than 15 million hectares of land.

There were 561 fires burning as of Friday, including 69 that were considered out of control.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) issued an update on the wildfire situation in northern Saskatchewan on Tuesday afternoon. 

As of 11:00 am, there were 50 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those active fires, four are categorized as contained, 12 are not contained, 18 are ongoing assessment, and 16 are listed as protecting values. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to convene the Incident Response Group in Ottawa today to discuss the ongoing wildfire situation across the country.

Carney also convened the group of ministers and senior officials a little over a month ago in response to an earlier wave of wildfires, which peaked in May and June, then receded, and have now flared up again.

More than 6,000 people are currently out of their homes in Manitoba, and the communities of Lynn Lake and Snow Lake ordered residents to flee for the second time in just weeks.

Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Canada's ambassador calling for action on the wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states.

In a Tuesday letter to Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires.

According to a press release issued by the City of Weyburn today, members of the Weyburn Fire Department are stepping up to answer the call to help battle the wildfires threatening northern Saskatchewan communities.

A team of three members from the Weyburn Fire Department (WFD), along with a wildland utility truck and supporting equipment, deployed to the Beauval area early Friday morning. Their assistance was requested by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) as part of the province’s coordinated wildfire response.

There has been a large increase in active wildfires in the province over the last week.  

As of 4:00 pm on Wednesday afternoon, there are 65 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. 

Vice President of Operations with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) noted the weekend weather brought both rain and lightning.  

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) released an update on the wildfire situation in northern Saskatchewan on Wednesday.  

As of 2:00 pm, there are 19 active wildfires in the province. Of those active wildfires, two are categorized, five are not contained, nine are ongoing assessments, and three are listed as protecting values. 

Wildfire evacuees continued to make their way home in some Manitoba communities Tuesday, but there were hurdles.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation lifted its evacuation order Monday evening, then told the community's 2,400 residents Tuesday morning the return was being delayed due to problems with the water system.

"Water tests came back (with) high aluminum. The pipes and reservoir will need to be cleaned and samples taken after the cleaning," said a message posted on the chief and council's Facebook page.

Rain and cooler temperatures brought relief to fire-ravaged Manitoba and Saskatchewan Monday, allowing fire bans to be reduced and more evacuees to go home.

The weather helped fire crews get an upper hand in parts of northern Manitoba to clear the way for some of the 21,000 or more evacuees to start returning home.

David Monias, chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, reposted video of heavy rainfall on social media along with video of small planes leaving Winnipeg with evacuees who were forced out almost three weeks earlier.

While the evacuation order remains in place for Creighton, a Swift Current resident from Creighton has faith that the community will rebuild from wildfires.