The Public Safety Agency of Saskatchewan is reminding all residents, farmers, and landowners to take precautions to avoid wildfires and grass fires this spring, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic looming overhead.
The province is facing the threat of wildfire once again this year, and officials are asking residents to do everything they can to prevent potential wildfire scares.
“Every year, wildfires and grassfires threaten Saskatchewan communities and property,” Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency President Marlo Pritchard said. “During these extraordinary times, it’s critical that people take every precaution possible to prevent fire.”
Due to the pandemic, the Public Safety Agency is taking extra precautions to mitigate risk, including adjusting training for staff and providing increased fire prevention awareness to the public. There are also things that Saskatchewan residents can do to help the agency’s efforts.
Residents should take extra care when disposing of cigarettes, keep children from playing with fire, and engage in precautionary measures where possible — like mowing the lawn regularly as green grass can prevent the spread of a wildfire.
Additionally, residents should know the municipal fire bylaws before lighting any kind of fire on your property, such as what is appropriate to use as a fire pit, where it should be located, and what is allowed to be burned within municipal limits.
It's also important to know if there are any current fire bans in the area before lighting any kind of fire.
Anyone planning to burn within 4.5 kilometres of a provincial forest must practice safe burning and also request approval for their controlled burn from the nearest fire base.
Farmers who have to start a controlled burn are reminded to do so with caution. They are advised to burn piles when there is no snow cover of frozen ground, and to re-pile and re-burn until the pile is gone.
Farmers are also advised to avoid building windrows on swamps or bogs and to use an excavator to reduce the amount of dirt in the rows.
The Public Safety Agency said never to leave a burn barrel or fire pit unattended, and not to burn under dry conditions, or when the weather calls for high temperatures, low humidity, or windy conditions.
The best time to burn is in the early or mid-morning, or late afternoon, and never at the end of the day.
Keeping dry grass, hay and stubble in the area reduced can prevent a yard fire from spreading, and blading down to soil at least five metres around an ongoing burn can help keep the fire from spreading.
Make sure to call your local RM office for updated information on current municipal fire bans and always report your activity to the Control Burn line at 1 (866) 404-4911.
