Wildfires force another Manitoba First Nation to evacuate

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This article was published 22/07/2021 (1211 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A growing number of wildfires and increasing smoke are forcing the evacuation of another Indigenous community in Manitoba.

The Canadian Red Cross says it is helping individuals with health concerns from Red Sucker Lake First Nation, about 700 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

About 300 people were expected to start flying out of the community Thursday and were to be put up in hotels in Winnipeg and Brandon.

The Red Cross said it hoped to have those people out by the end of the night, but added evacuations could continue into the weekend.

It’s the fifth Manitoba First Nation whose members have been forced to leave their homes this week.

Most people from Little Grand Rapids, Bloodvein and Berens River First Nations have left, while Pauingassi First Nation completed its evacuation Monday.

There are about 2,000 people displaced and the number is growing.

There are 131 active wildfires still burning, but no homes or structures have been affected by the blazes so far, said Don Hallett, the assistant director for the Manitoba Wildfire Service.

Roughly two dozen fires are considered out of control.

“I know that many of those communities were faced with heavy smoke, and that was one of the reasons why some of those evacuations started to the occur,” Hallett said Thursday. “Also with the power outages that go up into that area, I know that’s an area of concern for those communities as well.”

Weeks of hot, dry weather have prompted fire and travel restrictions that have limited access to remote cottages and put a stop on backcountry camping.

Environment Canada said air quality alerts remained for parts of Manitoba. There were also severe thunderstorm warnings for the western part of the province near the Saskatchewan boundary.

During an announcement in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu couldn’t say if the federal government would commit to providing additional support for evacuees in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

“That’s a hard one for me to answer without understanding, necessarily, what that support looks like, but I can’t imagine we would say no to supporting Canadians,” she said.

“Obviously, most of that support does come through provinces who would be facilitating, for example, food, transportation, accommodation, but again, this has been a Team Canada approach through COVID-19. We’ll be there for provinces and territories as they sort out what kind of support they need, and I would say to Canadians that are evacuated that our hearts are with them and we’ll make sure they get what they need to sustain themselves through this really trying time.”

Hallett reminded Manitobans to refrain from using drones in the airspace near wildfires. Last week, water bombers were forced to abort a firefighting mission in the Whiteshell area because a drone had been deployed nearby.

“Thankfully, our ground crews were able to keep fighting that fire without the support of the additional aircraft, and we were successful in containing that fire, but it could have been worse,” he said.

Members from the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry at CFB Shilo are assisting Manitoba firefighters.

— The Canadian Press / staff