The Moose Jaw Fire Department received assistance from the Lumsden and Bethune volunteer fire departments to contain a wildfire in the Nicolle Flats area of the Buffalo Pound Provincial Park on Aug. 5, where they contained the blaze, fortunately without injury or incident.
"We were called to attend a fire at Buffalo Pound (Provincial Park) at around 4 p.m. on the fifth of August," explained Rod Montgomery, chief of the Moose Jaw Fire Department (MJFD). "When they got there, part of the problem was getting access to where the fire actually was, so it did take a couple of hours just to get access.
"Once they were able to get to the fire, crews were able to start to mitigate that. They had the assistance of the Lumsden and the Bethune Fire Departments, as well as staff members from the provincial park and some local farmers who helped out, too, with some heavy equipment, et cetera. Just before midnight, they were confident that the fire was under control and they returned to the city."
Dave Bjarnason, the park manager, said he was on holidays over the weekend, but was proud of how his staff handled the incident.
"We got a report from the public that there was smoke out at the Nicolle Flats Nature Area, which is on the east side of the park, in the southeast corner," Bjarnason said. "We sent staff out to investigate and received a call at the same time from one of the landowners on the other side of the lake, who advised that there was smoke and something was burning.
"That's when 911 was called by our staff. It amounted to a five-hectare fire pretty much right at the confluence of the Moose Jaw River and the Qu'Appelle River."
A conservation officer responded and management of the fire was handed over to him until the MJFD was on scene. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) looked after logistics while park staff made sure members of the public were kept away.
"We responded with five members, our wildland unit, and a UTV," said Lumsden fire chief Jeff Carey. "It was a very difficult area to access due to rivers and creeks and lots of brush. The fire was pretty much contained by the rivers on two sides, and then someone, I'm not sure who, pushed a firebreak on the third side. So, we worked on hotspots, basically, until around 11:30 that night when (the MJFD) released us."
"One of our concerns early on was that if the wind shifted, the fire might have started working towards our bison range," Bjarnason noted. However, the fire was relatively easily contained and that threat did not materialize. Bjarnason said no permanent damage had been done and that damaged vegetation would regenerate as it is naturally adapted to do.
Hot, dry conditions have provoked fire bans throughout Saskatchewan, with smoky conditions seemingly here to stay. Only self-contained, CSA-approved portable gas heating devices, fire pits, barbecues, pressurized stoves, and charcoal briquettes are permitted for cooking and heating purposes, and only at the park's discretion.
The campfire restriction order will stay in place until conditions improve.
