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Sask. keeping an eye on Alberta wildfires moving closer

May 8, 2016 | 12:28 PM

The wildfires in Alberta haven’t crossed into Saskatchewan yet, but the province is keeping an eye on them. 

On Saturday, updates in Alberta said the wind was whipping up the fires and two were moving toward the Saskatchewan border.

As of Saturday night, the fires hadn’t crossed into Saskatchewan. The government said the smaller northern fire was about 22 km from the border, while the larger fire was about 37 km away. The news release said, at the time, there hadn’t been significant movement of the fires, though it predicted they would move east over the next day.

The province also said Saturday night, that no Saskatchewan community was being threatened by the fires.

The Wildfire Management Branch is working with its counterparts in Alberta to contain the fires. The government said tanker aircrafts from Saskatchewan have been attacking the fires, and a plan was in place to get potential fuel out of its way with controlled burns.

A fire ban is now in place for over 100 communities in Saskatchewan.

As of Saturday morning seven wildfires were burning in Saskatchewan. Year to date there have been 118 wildfires in the province, up from 95 at this time last year.

 

lschick@cjme.com
On Twitter: @LMSchickler