Some of the evacuees from the northern wildfires are now back home. CEO and Fire Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, Marlo Pritchard, says the temperatures are cooler and some areas have received rain, meaning fire crews have been able to go from the defence to the offence in fighting the wildfires. Because of that, evacuees from Buffalo Narrows and Île-à-la-Crosse who were in Regina are now back home.

There are still 52 people from Buffalo Narrows in Lloydminster and 131 from Patuanak in North Battleford. It is up to local leadership to decide when to lift their evacuation orders. The SPSA is also providing support on behalf of Meadow Lake Tribal Council to evacuees from Dillon, St. George’s Hill, Michel Village, English River First Nation and Patuanak in Lloydminster and North Battleford.

Pritchard adds that the travel advisories have been lifted for the Montreal River area north of Highway 2 and Junction 165, as well as the area in and around Besnard Lake, and north of the Churchill River near the Smith and McCrae fires The SPSA says the Meyak, Wistigo, Smith and McCrae fires no longer pose a threat to travellers, boaters and paddlers in those areas.

Vice President of Operations with the SPSA, Steve Roberts, says none of the communities near the fires have had any damage inside their boundaries. There was damage to SaskPower lines, which were fixed, and there will be some cabins and small sheds outside of the communities which will be damaged, but Roberts says they will identify them and contact the owners directly before releasing any details.

As of 10;30 this morning, there were 21 fires burning with five not contained. There have been 187 wildfires to date, as opposed to the five year average of 114.