SPSA reports reduced smoke levels as rainfall helps crews fight Fort à la Corne fire

The English Wildfire east of Prince Albert has grown to nearly 42,000 hectares as of Thursday morning and is not yet contained.

However, rainfall in the area has allowed crews to make progress. There has been more rain on the western part of the Fort à la Corne fire and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has seen reduced smoke levels.

“If activity is reduced, smoke clears which allows us to make much better progress on the ground… both in constructing fire guards and actually doing fire direct attacks with our crews which we added today,” SPSA acting vice-president of operations Steve Roberts said.

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“As long as the fire is not reacting to high gusts of wind which will change our tactics, we can make much better progress.”

1:26 Farmer says SPSA not coordinating fight against English Fire

James Smith Cree Nation was partially evacuated last week and there hasn’t been any other evacuations as of Thursday.

There is currently no structure damage as of Thursday, but there has been some farmland with damaged fence line.

The fire started May 8 and was determined to be human caused. The investigation is ongoing as crews continue to fight the blaze.