Saskatchewan getting military personnel, helicopters to help fight wildfires

REGINA – Saskatchewan is set to get help from Ottawa as dozens of wildfires burn in the province.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski says she has approved a request for federal assistance and that Armed Forces personnel and helicopters are being deployed.

It comes after Saskatchewan’s public safety minister, Tim McLeod, said he wrote to Olszewski asking for up to 300 crew members to mop up blazes.

He said the province requested helicopters for bucketing and to move crews, and it also needs water haulers and sprinklers to protect communities.

Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government had previously refused asking for federal aid, saying Ottawa did not have what Saskatchewan needed. 

The province is reporting 50 active wildfires, including 14 uncontained. 

Wildfires continue to cause havoc in neighbouring Manitoba, where the northwestern community of Leaf Rapids says a blaze has entered the community.

The town says the fire jumped the Churchill River and entered the community through its industrial area.

It said on social media that all personnel, including firefighters, have had to leave.

Provincial data says the fire is out-of-control and is about 25 square kilometres in size.

Multiple wildfires are burning around the community located 980 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, including one southwest of the town that is more than 303 square kilometres in size.

There are 121 wildfires burning in Manitoba, 12 of which are considered out of control.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025.