Wildfire activity in northern Saskatchewan slowed over the weekend due to consistent rains, allowing firefighters to directly attack flames and shore up defences close to communities at risk.
The effort is leading to some partial lifts of evacuation orders for a few of the 30-plus communities currently affected.
Healthy evacuees with their own vehicles were told Sunday evening that they could return home to Pelican Narrows, with highways 106 and 135 reopening to traffic after lengthy closures due to wildfire activity.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
The announcement came from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, which also strongly recommended that children under five, elders and those with health conditions delay their return due to wildfire smoke still impacting the area.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency president Marlo Pritchard said during a Sunday update that the possibility for residents to return to other evacuated communities was also being assessed. He noted that residents in Weyakwin, located around 150 kilometres north of Prince Albert, were able to return home over the weekend.
The move to return residents to their homes would ease pressures on hotels and temporary shelters across Saskatchewan, which have been supporting between 10,000 and 15,000 evacuees over the past few weeks. As evacuations mounted at the end of May, some northern evacuees were sent as far as Regina to access supports.
As of 10 a.m. CST on Monday, the SPSA’s website indicated that 24 wildfires were actively burning in Saskatchewan, with eight out of control and 12 more being assessed. The agency estimates 400 structures have been lost to fires so far in the 2025 season.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
