With the potential for a severe wildfire season because of drought conditions, the Opposition is asking for assurances that the government is prepared.

In a letter sent to Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman, the NDP points out that during last year’s strong El Nino cycle, Saskatchewan saw 494 fires burn, well above the five-year average of 378 and past trends suggest that the second year of an El Nino cycle is hotter and drier, meaning the potential for wildfire could be greater in 2024. The 2023 wildfire season burned roughly 1.9 million hectares of land, or about five times the size of Prince Albert National Park.

The NDP wants to know if the government is going to announce an earlier start to the wildfire season.

Alberta has already announced it is anticipating a severe wildfire season and is hiring 1,000 wildland firefighters and support staff who are expected to be trained and ready to go by April 15. Fire season officially begins in Alberta on Friday.

In the middle of winter, Alberta wildland firefighters are battling 57 fires across Alberta and while about a dozen of those started this year the rest are holdovers from last year’s wildfire season.  In the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency wildfire update there is one active fire in the province and there have been two so far this year.