It s not so much the number of fires, but their intensity, he says. We have to be careful and pick the right fires to attack so we can do it safely and not put our crews in jeopardy, he said.
With much of western Canada and northwestern Ontario in a similar situation, getting additional resources has been challenging, as there is only so much equipment and so many firefighters to go around.
Help on the way
The arrival of Canadian Armed Forces personnel on Friday should help.
Schafer says they will be tasked with extinguishing hot spots in fires that are close to being extinguished to free up other firefighters to battle more difficult blazes.
Campfire ban lifted for northern areas and provincial parks, other fire restrictions still in place
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Roads reopen, fire danger sees slight dip but blazes keep burning
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The closest fire to Flin Flon is the Alir fire, located on the west shore of Amisk Lake. That fire, near Muskeg Bay, has grown to over 2,000 hectares in size as of July 13 and was started by a lightning strike July 10. Firefighters in the region are currently at the “protecting values” stage of beating back the flames, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). Another fire, called the McKenzie fire by the SPSA, is about 100 hectares in size and burning roughly halfway between Amisk Lake and Cumberland House. The McKenzie fire is considered as “ongoing assessment” by the SPSA.