The English fire east of Prince Albert, at 40 thousand hectares, has grown by 10% since yesterday.

That is the fire in the Fort a la Corne forest which has brought a heavy pall of smoke to much of central Saskatchewan including Saskatoon.

Steve Roberts with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says there is a water bomber as well as four aircraft which carry retardant, available and stationed in Prince Albert, if ground crews feel they need them.

“Typically air tankers are required for two types of business. One is to wet down hotspots to support an existing fire line or to do aerial ignition projects.”

Neither of those situations had yet to arise on Wednesday when the briefing with the province took place.

So far no one has been evacuated although it was being contemplated for the James Smith Cree Nation. However, the province says they have provided air scrubbers so the senior elders, who were the main concern, can stay in their home community.

Some farmland around the provincial forest has burned and Roberts says they are going out today to map what has burned.

There are two wildfires burning in Saskatchewan and both are classified as not contained. The other fire is PELICN01 west of Pelican Narrows in the Denare Beach Fire Protection Area.

There have been 39 fires so far in 2020 and the five year average for this time of year is 119.

Resources deployed to the English fire include:
-An incident command team
-An aerial ignition specialist team
-A total of 29 Public Safety Agency staff
-Six five person crews
-8 helicopters
-12 bulldozers
-9 crew trucks and engines
– 1 water bomber and 4 aircraft that carry retardant are available at the Prince Albert airport if required.