By Matt Kelly

Smoke biggest concern in Saskatchewan as Fort McMurray fire stabilizes by border

May 18, 2016 | 2:32 PM

Smoke from the Fort McMurray wildfire is the biggest concern Saskatchewan faces from the devastating Alberta blaze.

The fire itself has only moved a couple hundred metres from Tuesday, May 17 and remains approximately five kilometres away from the Saskatchewan border. Officials don’t anticipate it crossing the border soon, but admit it could change.

Emergency management commissioner Duane McKay said La Loche is the closest community to the fire, but the area is not currently under a significant fire threat and they don’t anticipate any rapid movement.

“We don’t see any direct fire threat to any communities within Saskatchewan at this particular time. So our concern is really around the amount of smoke that is being produced,” he said.

However McKay doesn’t expect the heavy smoke to last for very long as the extended forecast shows winds moving from the east, which will likely push the smoke back into Alberta.

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Garnet Matchett, director of operations for health emergency management, said they are working with health providers in northern communities to ensure people are getting the safety information they need.

On a scale of zero to six, Matchett said the La Loche and area air quality landed between three and four.

The province continues to monitor the Fort McMurray fire along with the fires in Saskatchewan and plans are set in case something major were to happen.

“We can say that we have our plans in place that would indicate any potential evacuations, any fire response or support to communities,” McKay said. “We’ve reviewed these as late as this (Wednesday) morning to ensure that any particular issues that might arise within the province related to this fire or any others, we have all of our contingency plans well supported and ready to go.”

Acting Deputy Minister of Environment Kevin Murphy added fire crews and air support have been preparing for the Fort McMurray fire.

“We have mobilized the ground firefighting teams in La Loche at the fire base there and have continued to deploy air assets from Buffalo Narrows onto the eastern flank of the fire,” he said.

Resources have also begun to move to Buffalo Narrows for provincial fire support.

Six wildfires are burning in Saskatchewan. Two are contained while the remaining four are under active supervision or suppression.

mkelly@jpbg.ca