PRINCE ALBERT -- The chief of the Prince Albert Fire Department says there's still a fire risk in an area northeast of the city where thousands of hectares burned last week.
A fire ban north of the North Saskatchewan River, within Prince Albert city limits, remains in effect following the Cloverdale wildfire. Recreational fires south of the river are permitted in fire pits covered with screens.
Prince Albert Fire Department Chief Kris Olsen said there’s still lots of fuel in the mature forest. In some areas, the wildfire burned the underbrush and many trees are still standing.
“There's still a lot of available fuel. I'm speaking mostly about the eastern plank, and we still have some concerns going into summer. We're going to make regular inspections,” said Olsen.
Olsen recommends people who live in forested areas purchase home sprinklers kits. He said they’re most effective when they can mount to the roof.
“Some of these operations ran for 40-plus hours. The humidity was brought up in this area and it really took the fight out of the fire,” Olsen said.
A Prince Albert fire evacuee said he’s amazed his home and others in the neighbourhood are still standing after the wildfire burned through the area last week.
“You get onto Birch Lane and everything is burned and you come around the corner and here's just your little house. It's just perfect. Nothing untouched. It almost feels surreal,” said Kobus Steyn.
The Cloverdale fire spanned over 5,500 hectares. Steyn said he had about 15 minutes to gather a few items and leave his home last Monday when the fire broke out. He was leaving the area when firefighters were moving in with sprinkler systems.
He said firefighters moved a trailer with snowmobiles and a snow blower out of the forest so they wouldn’t burn.
“They went beyond their job. They were moving items like the snow blower. It was moved just so the sprinklers would get to it,” said Steyn.
Steyn said judging by the looks of the surrounding forest, the sprinklers are the only thing that saved his house from catching fire.
“The biggest contribution that I can see is obviously the sprinkler system. Because if you look right around my house, everything is burned,” said Steyn.
The R.M. of Buckland lifted its municipal fire ban on Tuesday that had been in place for over a month.
The rain on Sunday and Monday prompted council to revoke the order, said Reeve Don Fryk.
“It’s a much needed rain,” said Fryk.
He said the rain will also add moisture back into the roads and make it easier for equipment to smooth rough patches that have become “wash boarded.”
“Once the ban is lifted, you can do what you normally did with fire. You can burn in burning barrels and have campfires,” Fryk said.
With the ban lifted, people in the R.M. can also set off fireworks.
Fyrk said the rain will also help extinguish hotspots in the Cloverdale fire.
The origin of the Cloverdale wildfire has been determined, but not released to the public. An investigation into the cause of the Cloverdale wildfire is still ongoing.
As of Tuesday, the fire ban order in the District of Lakeland is still in effect. It bans all burning, burning permits, recreational campfires and fireworks.
According to information provided to CTV News by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), the rain will help put the hot spots out, depending on the depth of burn, its size and what material the hotspot consist of.
A drone identified over 300 hot spots in the Cloverdale fire; however, it did not scan the entire fire area. The SPSA says they plan to do a more comprehensive scan over area in the next few days to identify other potential of concern.
