The City of Weyburn is officially under a fire ban. Fire chief Simon Almond announced that effective at 4:00 p.m. on August 15th, all open air fires are prohibited.

Almond believes it’s for the best, considering the conditions we’re experiencing.

“At effective at 4:00 p.m. the city of Weyburn is going be under an open-air burn ban. That means that all open air burning is now prohibited. You can still use your barbecue. But the campfires in the backyard and that type of thing is banned,” he said. “We expect the ban to be on at least a week until we get some significant precipitation.”

Weyburn hasn’t had a rainfall of greater than five millimeters since July 10th. The forecast for this week looks as if we won’t see any moisture any time soon.

With forest fires burning out of control in British Columbia and the smoke making it’s way to Saskatchewan, Almond says even a small backyard fire just isn’t worth the risk.

“We’re very dry out there. We’re starting harvest right now, it’s just about ready to go into full gear. We already have bad air conditions, so let's not add to it by having open air fires,” he said.

Conditions have been so dry in the area that a house in town’s lawn caught on fire. Many, including the fire chief, saw the post making its rounds on Facebook.

“I presume it was some gentlemen was driving by a road and came across a grass fire on the side and put it out himself. We appreciate the people doing that. But by all means, please call 9-1-1 if you have a fire,” Almond stated.

The fire ban will only be in effect in the City of Weyburn. Acreages and rural municipalities outside of Weyburn don’t fall under the same jurisdiction. The only other RM to follow suit so far is Brokenshell. Nickel Lake has not yet announced a ban. 

“I can’t speak on behalf of the RMs, but I’ll be contacting the RMs to let them know what we’re doing. Sometimes they follow suit and sometimes they don't,” Almond said.

DiscoverWeyburn will break the news when the fire ban has been lifted.