The RM of Estevan is now at a Level 2 fire ban.
The announcement was made on Wednesday morning. Open burning in the municipality is banned due to dry, high-risk fire hazard conditions. It is recommended agriculture and industrial operations with water tanks at their disposal to have them filled and accessible at all times.
A Level 2 fire ban includes unsupervised burning barrels and incinerators; supervised incinerators (for farm, acerage and hamlet use); burning barrels with screens under constant supervision; and fireworks
Fire Chief Dale Feser said the Level 2 ban means the fireworks show that was scheduled for Saturday night at Beach Bash has been cancelled. Beach Bash will be Friday and Saturday at the Woodlawn Regional Park's Boundary Dam Beach Site.
Exemptions to a Level 2 fire ban, with a plan to extinguish a fire, are:solid fuel barbecues, recreational camp fires, liquid fuel barbecues (propane and natural gas), and camp stoves.
A total fire ban remains in place for the Rural Municipalities of Benson and Cambria.
This fire ban does not apply to the city of Estevan, but extreme caution is advised when operating fire pits. It is recommended to have a garden hose or water available when they are in use.
“The City of Estevan doesn’t allow a lot of gas burning that is done out in the rural areas,” said Feser. “We don’t see controlled burns, and we don’t allow controlled burns within the city limits. The only thing that is allowed inside the limits is a fire pit, which people apply for the permits.”
There could be a risk of a fire pit ban being enforced within city limits, he said, if the dry conditions persist throughout the week.
The fire department initially announced on July 18 that fire bans were in place for the rural municipalities of Estevan, Cambria and Benson.
“We’ve had some extended periods with some dry conditions here,” Feser said last week. “The fire weather index or the fire hazard reading has been in the extreme for several days. There hasn’t been a lot of precipitation or moisture that has come in to quench the vegetation out there.
“Even though the rate of spread is still on the low side, we’re doing this as a precautionary measure.”
The Saskatchewan fire hazard map lists all rural municipalities in the southeast corner of the province as extreme, as of July 24. The rate of spread, meanwhile, is between four and 10 metres/min for most rural municipalities in the southeast.
While the Estevan area did receive some precipitation on July 20, 21 and 24, it was “spasmodic and random at best,” he said.
“We’re going to need a considerable amount of precipitation here over a large area of the province for probably the better share of a day or two in order to change the situation,” he said.
Feser noted that from July 11 to 18, the fire department was called to four wildland fires. Two of those fires were on July 13, and both were caused by a spark generated by farm machinery. Neither fire resulted in injuries.
“With those two fires, fire crews were hampered by extremely high winds that date, and a lack of accessibility where the fire was actually burning,” said Feser.
Municipalties determine the level of the fire ban.
The fire chief also urged people to be aware of the dry conditions if they are smoking. He asked that they not toss lit cigarettes from their vehicles, as it is dry enough for a cigarette to cause a wildland fire.
