Sask. issues fire ban for much of province

The Ministry of Environment has ordered a fire ban formost of southern and central Saskatchewan.

Dry conditions have led to extreme fire hazards throughout the province. As a result, all provincial parks and recreation areas located south of the Churchill River system will no longerallow campfires.

Campers will still be allowed to use gas barbecues and charcoal briquettes. Open fires are also banned on Crown land.

• Sandy Bay, Sask., declares state of emergency over forest fire smoke
• Pelican Narrows under mandatory evacuation order, 'aggressive' fire activity expected to continue

The fire ban will be in place until conditions improve. The province's Wildfire Management Branch said there is little rain expected in the area for the next seven to 10days.

Prince Albert National Park also put a fire ban into effect on Thursday.Other national parks, regional parks and municipalities may also have bans on open fires.

Right now, there are 34 wildfires burning in the province. Firefighters have sent most of their resources to the Pelican Narrows area to fight three out-of-control fires, the largest of which has burned 600 square kilometresof forest.