WATCH ABOVE: A group of 70 army reservists is joining the fight against Saskatchewan wildfires. Reid Fiest reports.
More than 13,000 people remain out of their homes in northern Saskatchewan as a series of wildfires continue to burn out of control.
Officials say one fire near the town of La Ronge has merged with another fire and is almost 1,000 square kilometres in size — bigger than Calgary.
Another major fire is within two kilometres of the village of Pinehouse, where 900 people usually live.
READ MORE: Wildfire posing a direct threat to Pinehouse, Sask.
There are currently 119 active wildfires in the province. So far this year, there have been 604 wildfires compared to 202 at this time last year.
Firefighters have been working 12 straight days battling the blazes before taking a mandatory two days off. This cycle has been ongoing for five weeks.
PREVIOUS: Increased wildfire behaviour expected in Saskatchewan due to weather
On Saturday, a group of army reservists joined the crews battling the fires.
Seventy reservists arrived in Prince Albert, taking vacations from their civilian jobs to fight the fires.
They will be receive firefighting training before moving north to where the fires are burning.
— With files from Canadian Press
Comments