Australian firefighters arrive to help battle Saskatchewan wildfires

(Courtesy: Caesar Gunn)

The province says 40 firefighters from Australia have arrived and 40 more from Mexico are expected soon to help battle wildfires across northern Saskatchewan.

The firefighters from down south and down under are just the latest to travel to the province to assist with its ongoing fire season.

Over the past several months, the province has received aircraft and personnel from Quebec, B.C., Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, PEI, Alberta and half a dozen U.S. states.

In an update Tuesday afternoon, the province said that 50 wildfires are currently burning with 12 considered not contained.

Nine communities are currently under evacuation orders, according to the province.

Those are the Resort Subdivision of Lac La Plonge, La Plonge Reserve, Northern Village of Beauval, Jans Bay, Patuanak/English River First Nation as well as priority individuals from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Northern Village of Pinehouse, Northern Village of Île-à-la-Crosse and Canoe Lake Cree First Nation/Cole Bay/Canoe Narrows.

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The province said evacuees should register through the Sask Evac Web Application and then call 1-855-559-5502 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Evacuees supported by the Canadian Red Cross are asked to call 1-800-863-6582.

A fire ban also remains in place for the area north of Saskatchewan’s provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River.

“The fire ban prohibits any open fires, controlled burns and fireworks in the designated boundary. This includes provincial parks, provincial recreation sites and the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District within the boundary,” the province said.

More details can be found here.