As temperatures remain high and conditions dry heading into the May long weekend, a provincial fire ban has been put in place for large parts of northern Saskatchewan. Citing the “hot, dry conditions and an extreme fire risk that covers most of northern Saskatchewan,” the provincial government announced that the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency had issued a provincial fire ban, effective immediately, for Crown lands, provincial parks and the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District. “While many people are looking forward to the long weekend, the decision to implement a fire ban is necessary in order to protect lives, communities, major infrastructure and resources from wildfire,” SPSA president and fire commissioner Marlo Pritchard said in a statement. …A convoy of vehicles was allowed to leave a northern Saskatchewan village early Tuesday morning after Buffalo Narrows issued a mandatory evacuation order. The village had issued a state of emergency on Monday.

Additional coverage in CTV News Saskatoon, by Josh Lynn: ‘This is a big fire’: Raging Sask. wildfire forces further evacuations