Cooler weather, showers help subdue dozens of prairie fires
Last Updated: Saturday, June 20, 2009 | 3:40 PM MT
The Canadian Press
Dozens of forest fires were still burning Saturday across northern areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan, but rain showers appeared to offer some relief.
In Alberta, about 900 firefighters were battling roughly 50 fires still burning, with two of the larger fires still considered to be out of control.
Both out of control fires are in the Fort McMurray area, approximately 450 kilometres north of Edmonton. The largest is estimated to be 115 square kilometres.
Jeff Driscoll, with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, said many of the fires were ignited by lightning.
Thousands of lightning strikes over the past week sparked 220 fires, resulting in the province being forced to call in fire crews from across Canada and as far away as Mexico.
Brent Krayetski, with the provincial fire office, said the wet weather is also holding some of the smaller blazes that fire crews have yet to reach.
Lightning strikes are also blamed for many of the wildfires burning in northern Saskatchewan, but rainstorms over a two-day period have doused some of the fires burning north of Prince Albert.
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