Saskatchewan Forest Fire Chronology, 1945-1996

BOREAS SERM Forest Fire Chronology of Saskatchewan in Vector Format is a series of ARC/INFO export files detailing wildfire history. The dataset was compiled by Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) for Wildlife Branch. It provides annual fire perimeters from 1945 to 1996, though some years are missing.

Use Cases

• Analyzing fire frequency and size trends over a multi-decade period.
• Modeling forest succession and habitat change based on historical fire scars.
• Calibrating satellite-derived fire detection algorithms with ground-truthed historical data.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range of over 50 years (1945-1996).
• Represents an authoritative government source (Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management).
• Available in a standardized geospatial vector format (ARC/INFO export).

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low, with column names and row counts unspecified.
• Data freshness is a conflict; one platform lists a 2026 update, while another indicates the underlying data ends in 1996.
• Contains gaps in the annual record, with some missing years.

Provenance

Source

Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM)

Collection Method

Compiled and provided to Wildlife Branch, format is ARC/INFO export files.

Time Range

1945 to 1996

Freshness

1996-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Saskatchewan, Canada