SASKATOON -- Grass fires may be more unpredictable in the Saskatoon area this year.
The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency is dealing with a disparity across the province when it comes to wet and dry conditions which is not usually the case.
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Spokesperson Patrick Boyle said Saskatoon is on the dividing line between the large amount of snowfall in the north and the lack of snow in the south where it is extremely dry.
“You have a bit of a tale of two different stories and that is creating a different impact across the province,” Boyle told CTV News.
Some areas around Saskatoon were in the below-normal runoff category even though there was snow later in the season and that helped with moisture.
Depending on where the snow accumulated, there could still be dry patches like the area just off Highway 16 near the Dalmeny grid, Boyle said.
A grass fire there Tuesday started as a controlled burn, but quickly got out of control.
Because Saskatoon is expecting below-normal spring run off and there wasn’t a huge snowpack, Boyle said, that will impact the fire potential.
“Not a lot of snow on the ground and not a lot of precipitation so far will result in drier conditions and those grass fires can be a concern.”
Moving forward into the rest of spring and summer, all eyes will be on the mountain run off.
“We know now that it is well above normal in the mountains snowpack and as it melts and makes it's way through its system we look at that rainfall in the Alberta foothills that it will pick up and also rainfall in Saskatchewan."
He also said that the rapid ice melt which caused damage to the Petrofka Bridge just west of Saskatoon and the powerful ice flows on the North Saskatchewan River shouldn’t be a concern moving forward.
