Rabbit Creek wildfire in Prince Albert National Park ‘being held’

The Rabbit Creek wildfire in Prince Albert National Park continues to burn, but it hasn’t grown in nearly 10 days.

The fire is currently 36,665 hectares and crews don’t anticipate it to grow any further.

Progress on containing the blaze has prompted officials to change the fire’s status from out of control to being held as they work to monitor the fire.

“Favourable weather and recent precipitation over the last few days along with hard work from fire personnel on the ground has allowed us to work towards containment of this fire,” Jed Cochrane, incident commander with Parks Canada, said.

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There are currently 211 personnel battling the blaze, with firefighters from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. They’re being supported by 10 helicopters and four pieces of heavy equipment.

Most of the park has been deemed safe to the public and most of the closures related to the wildfire have been lifted. Waskesiu townsite remains open, and some more closures on the park’s west side are expected to be lifted by Friday.

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A fire ban that’s been in effect in the park is also expected to be lifted on June 1.

So far, no significant damage has been reported due to the Rabbit Creek fire, which sits around 20 kilometers away from the Waskesiu townsite.