NEW FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM PROVES SUCCESSFUL IN DIFFICULT FIRE SEASON

Released on August 31, 1998

Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) Minister Lorne

Scott today expressed satisfaction that the province's fire

preparedness system, implemented in 1996, has been very successful in

dealing with one of the worst forest fire seasons on record.



As of August 25, the province had experienced 1,139 fires, the highest

number in a least 20 years. Despite this, only 872,000 hectares of

forest land was burned. By comparison, the difficult 1995 fire season

saw 650 forest fires burn approximately 1.4 million hectares of

forest.



The cornerstone of the new preparedness system is getting to fires

when they are smaller, easier to control and less expensive to

suppress. This means having initial attack teams' on the site of a

new fire within 15 to 30 minutes. If the initial attack team is

unable to contain a fire within the first 24 hours, they will turn the

fire over to an escaped fire team' and return to base to be ready for

new fire starts. Using this approach initial attack teams are not

absorbed into sustained fire operations and quick response capability

is maintained. As a result, more fires can be reached when they are

small.



Another indication of the system's success is in terms of the

cost of fighting fires. Alberta, in similar weather conditions,

had 1,478 fires by August 25, slightly more than Saskatchewan.

However, Alberta's fire fighting costs had climbed to over

$160 million, compared to approximately $70 million for

Saskatchewan, covered in the SERM budget and by a recent special

warrant.



During the 1998 fire season, 500 residents from northern

communities were evacuated due to fire and smoke concerns.

However, property damage has been minimal and there has been

little disruption of traffic. The 1995 fires caused the

evacuation of 2,500 people from 16 communities, closed 18 roads,

and cost $90 million to suppress.



"Saskatchewan's fire preparedness system is a model for fighting

forest fires effectively and efficiently," Scott said. "I

commend all of our fire fighters for the excellent job they have

done under very difficult circumstances."



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For more information, contact:



Tom Laxdal

Environment and Resource Management

Prince Albert

Phone: (306)953-3473