PRINCE ALBERT -- Prince Albert Fire Department Fire Chief Kris Olsen says the quick response of fire suppression crews and sprinkler systems helped save homes and businesses from the Cloverdale wildfire.
“It’s truly a success story,” he said.
The department responded to a report of a smoke in the area Monday afternoon. Upon arrival the provincial wildfire branch was called and fire fighters began evacuating people from the area.
Wildfire is a threat many residents in the forest fringe area live with, Olsen said. Many homeowners have taken measures outlined by the national FireSmart program, including keeping their yards clear of fire fuels and dry underbrush and buying sprinkler systems to use in an emergency.
“Setting up protection, your own protection in a forested area such as this, the sprinklers is what saved these homes,” said Olsen. No homes were lost to the fire.
“Having those clearances around your yard, keeping those fuels at bay you know, trimming grass down, having a sprinkler system to protect your house. And I think the lesson learned here is we need to be prepared, all of us,” said Olsen.
Olsen says the department is also prepared for a wildfire.
“You know the city of Prince Albert, the city of Prince Albert Fire Department realized that need years ago but actually put action to it in 2015 after the La Ronge fires.
“And like I said, we started to grow our wildland equipment base and it paid dividends, since Monday, dividends, it saved millions of dollars in residential structures,” said Olsen.
Fire fighters from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), Prince Albert, Buckland Fire Department and Garden River Fire Department worked to contain the fire and save homes.
The Cloverdale fire grew to 5,583 hectares and was considered contained by Thursday morning. All evacuees are allowed to go home.
The SPSA has two air tankers crews and five bucketing helicopters dedicated to the fire. In addition, heavy equipment and First Nation community fire crews were also brought in to fight fires on the ground and establish a perimeter.
SPSA will also be doing aerial thermal scans to look for hidden hotspots that need extra attention, said Steve Roberts, SPSA vice president of operations.
Roberts said in some cases fire encroached onto the yards of some properties.
Highway 55 is a popular route to the lakes, parks and recreation areas. Olsen cautions people using the highway this May long weekend to drive safe. Speed limits are reduced to 60 km/h because fire fighters and utility crews are still working where some smaller fires are still burning.
“I just ask the general public and the public traveling up to the lake this long weekend, be mindful, be aware while traveling this corridor. A lot of people want to take a look out the side windows. However we have crews still mopping up. Still doing work in the area so please be safe,” said Olsen.
SaskPower spokesperson Joel Cherry said power has been restored after the fire knocked out power in some areas. Stanley Mission experienced an immediate outage due to a surge as power came back, but crews resolved the issue, he said.
A joint task for is investigating the cause of the fire.
