SASKATOON -- The English Wildfire east of Prince Albert has grown to 40,000 hectares as of Wednesday morning - a 10 per cent increase from Tuesday, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA).

Steve Roberts, the SPSA’s acting vice president operations, said the agency has deployed resources to help combat the fire.

That includes an instant command team and an aerial ignition specialist team. Twenty-nine of the SPSA’s staff are assisting, along with six five-person crews, Roberts said.

He adds that the agency has allocated eight helicopters, 12 bulldozers and nine crew trucks and engines to the fire.

The wildfire started on May 14 in the Fort à la Corne provincial forest, and has since spread significantly.

Weather conditions including humidity and wind have posed challenges for crews working to get the fire under control.

Smoke is travelling in various areas of the province Wednesday due to shifting winds, according to Roberts.

“We will see extensive smoke today. Currently it is travelling from the fire southwest, impacting as far south as Saskatoon. We will see that smoke shift and move westward through the Prince Albert area as we move towards evening and by late tonight, that smoke will all be moving northward,” he said.

However, Roberts said the forecast for the next couple days looks promising.

“Even today, cooler temperatures, overcast skies are reducing the fire behaviour, allowing us to tighten up those patrol lines and get crews right in at the ground level on this fire,” he said.

“We are looking at a weather system coming in over the next 36 hours that is bringing even cooler temperatures and precipitation, and that will certainly help the ground crews.”

The SPSA has been in contact with affected areas, giving them real-time information on the extent of the fire and smoke conditions.

Residents have not been evacuated from the RMs of Torch River or Garden River.

That could change depending on a number of factors, Roberts said.

“Either a prolonged smoke exposure in which that typically affects the high risk medical components of the community or there would have to be a direct fire threat to the community itself, in which case that would be a more widespread evacuation.”

Roberts said the James Smith Cree Nation initially looked at evacuating some of its elder residents but is now keeping them in the community, using air scrubbers for fresh air.

The investigation into what started the English Wildfire is ongoing, but Roberts said he believes it was human-caused.

It is unknown how much of the fire has been contained at this point.