SASKATOON -- Farmers and volunteer firefighters in Smeaton have been working around the clock to stop the English Wildfire burning east of Prince Albert, according to farmer David Willness.
"There are so many people who have been doing the same thing we have. There’s people operating on one hour of sleep," Willness said.
The fire started late last week and Willness said that people in Smeaton were not warned in time about how close the fire was getting.
“We had no warning that this was coming north into the farmland... and on Saturday, the warnings come out after the fire was already into the farmland. They were majorly behind on warning people," he said.
On Monday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) said the fire increased in size to 28,800 hectares and is reminding people to aviod the area.
Christopher Clemett, a spokesperson for the SPSA, said they have been in contact with the RM of Torch River, the RM of Garden River and James Smith Cree Nation about changing fire and smoke conditions.
The SPSA said high wind conditions continue to create challenges for crews working to contain the fire.
Willness said the winds on Monday aren’t much better than Sunday, and he expects things to get worse.
The community has been looking after one another, making sure that everyone is informed and safe, with people driving in to help from areas unaffected by the fire, according to Willness.
"When this thing came into the farmland, it was just people calling everybody, neighbours coming from all over the place to help contain it.”
Willness said they have yet to hear about any emergency alerts to prepare for evacuation, but if it comes to that, he says he won’t be leaving.
"We have 200 cows here at our place. I would burn with the farm before I left. If I lost this place we seriously have nothing," he said.
Willness said that with a late spring, farmers are already behind, and now with their focus turned on the fire, the crops will take a little bit longer to get in the ground.
Ryan Reid, another farmer in Smeaton, has been out on his tractor trying to get as much work in as he can between helping out neighbours.
Much like Willness, Reid also believes that there wasn’t enough warning for the farmers in Smeaton.
He’s now waiting for help to arrive from the government.
"There’s not much wildfire support, I don’t know what’s going on. We had no planes yesterday dropping water that I could see," Reid said.
"The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency who looks after the wildfire has dropped the ball big time. Now we’re trying to contain it because if it jumps into the farmland and heads north, there’s no stopping it at all.”
Reid said people have been keeping an eye on their neighbours during this time, adding that he’s ready to lend a hand if the fire gets closer.
"All the guys around here have been doing it because what are we going to do? We have to," Reid said.
When Reid spoke with CTV News Monday, he said the fire was about two miles from his property.
"We’re hoping that the barriers that we put up will hold it, but what concerns us now is the embers that will fly if this wind continues," Reid said.
The damage has been minimal so far according to Reid, but he thinks that’s due to the hard work being done around the clock.
“Stuff like infrastructure, like people’s fences, pasture land and stuff like that has gone up in flames," Reid said.
"I haven’t heard of any houses burning yet, but that’s thanks to a lot of the people like the local fire department here in Smeaton and the farmers in the area.”
While firefighters and farmers work on the fire, Reid said that they are hoping for the weather to lend a hand.
"Everything is dead, there’s nothing green. The branches, the forest is tinder dry. It needs a good rain to get everything going, and that hasn’t happened.”
