Wildfires in Saskatchewan burned out of control Friday, with one blaze more than five times the size of Saskatoon, the province's largest city, officials said. Fires continued to burn throughout western Canada. Steve Roberts, an official with Saskatchewan's Wildfire Management Branch, said about 1,300 people were battling the fires, including soldiers and firefighting crews from across Canada, AP reported. Data posted on the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said wildfires have burned almost 2.4 million acres (one million hectares) in Saskatchewan so far this year. Fires also raged in British Columbia and Alberta, triggering evacuations, and air advisories have been issued across central and western Canada, as well as parts of the western U.S. due to the thick smoke billowing over the Pacific region. One of the hardest hit parts of Saskatchewan, Montreal Lake north of Prince Albert, is home to about 1,800 residents, most of whom have been evacuated. About 200 Canadian soldiers pushed through the bush trying to keep the area safe from the flames.
