Saskatoon residents and drivers may spot a 40-foot flame this week as SaskEnergy will be conducting controlled natural gas flares.

The flares will be emitted from flare stacks temporarily attached to SaskEnergy’s infrastructure.

One flare will start at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, and last for approximately one hour at Saskatoon Town Boarder Station #1, located southwest of the city on Valley Road and Highway #11 near the Saskatoon bus barns.

Another flare will start on Tuesday, and end on Wednesday. The flare will take place from 7:00 a.m. to approximately 6:00 p.m. each day near Zimmerman Road and Highway #394, close to the south Costco.

SaskEnergy says the flares are necessary to perform maintenance work in those areas. During this process, natural gas will be released from the gas line in a controlled burn called a flare. While the gas line will be isolated from the remainder of the system, flaring is required to remove the remaining gas from the line before and during the scheduled work. SaskEnergy reports flaring is an industry standard procedure when natural gas needs to be released from a gas line and reduces the carbon footprint of the vented natural gas by 85 per cent.

The area around the flares will be supervised to ensure public safety, and SaskEnergy has notified the City of Saskatoon Fire Department about these upcoming events. Natural gas service will not be affected during this process.