The Grand Chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council hopes an awareness and prevention campaign on human-caused wildfires will help to reduce forest and grass fires in the province.

The PAGC has partnered with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency on this education campaign in the form of billboards and radio ads.  Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte points to an effective campaign from years gone by with the mascot Smokey the Bear.  He explains the idea for a campaign began after a challenging wildfire year in 2017.  Not only were there some intense fires, they continued right into the fall, and by then most of the firefighters, both Type 1 and 2, are done for the season.

The goal, Hardlotte says, is to prevent human-caused wildfires, to help keep residents and especially elders from having to evacuate from their homes. Last year was a record-breaking year for the intensity of wildfires across the country.  There are only two wildfires burning as of Friday morning, but so far this year there have been 101 wildfires and 34 is the five-year average.  Hardlotte says, “human-caused fires devastate our communities, landscapes and wildlife.”