Is recent rain in Saskatchewan dousing wildfire and drought concerns?
It’s a welcome sight for many in Saskatchewan rain. The Saskatoon, Regina area is looking at anywhere between 10 to 20mm on top of what fell over the weekend and the southwest West central portion of the province. We could see any between 20 to 30mm. With a possible drought this summer, farmers and firefighters are taking whatever moisture they can get. This rain is definitely going to do a lot for for the grass drops for for cattle farmers and ranchers. It will get, you know, spring seeded crops off to a good start as well. April 29th, there were 56 municipality and provincial fire bans. As of Monday afternoon, the province had 32 fire bans, according to Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency’s website. I was actually talking to one of my neighboring R Miss councillors and said that the rain that we got would have alleviated their concerns so they won’t be putting a ban on SPSA. Also shows 4 active wildfires burning. There have been 109 wildfires in Saskatchewan so far this spring. The five year average is 41 for this time of year. SARM says this rain will help, but we still need a lot more to see a difference in moisture levels. This would be a big change if that forecast is right and we’re going to be really watching in the next 48 hours. On Sunday, there was a human caused grass fire within Saskatoon. The deputy Fire Chief says even though there is rain, caution is your best friend. We deem this fire to be caused by careless disposal of smoking material. So if you have smoking material, dispose of it properly and improve containers. Don’t just throw it into the ditch. The rain will stop on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. June is usually the wettest month of the year, so that is really going to be a key month for us. Nicole Healy, Global News.