REGINA — The provincial fire ban in Saskatchewan will extend into next week.

The province’s public safety agency says it expects to see more hot and dry weather over the next few days followed by lightning storms, creating dangerous fire conditions.

There are currently 30 active wildfires burning in Saskatchewan.

Three of them – the Stallard, Lock and Pothole fires – are within 20 kilometres of a town or village.

The agency says these three fires are of the “highest priority” and are being managed with ground crews, aircraft and heavy equipment.

A small number of residents have been evacuated from nearby communities for medical reasons, but there has been no widespread evacuation effort at this point.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2021.

The Canadian Press