Leaf Rapids residents pack up as fires draw near

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This article was published 07/07/2025 (310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the clock ticks and the fire nears, Leaf Rapids residents are frantically preparing to evacuate.

Liz Cherrier was cleaning out her fridge and freezer and turning off her hot water tank in case the power goes out during the evacuation. Residents have been ordered to leave by Tuesday at 10 a.m.

“The fire might impact our Hydro line, so we have to prepare for there to not be any power here for a while,” she said Monday afternoon. “That’s something we have to think about. There’s a lot of things to think about.”

About 300 residents have registered to evacuate to Winnipeg, which Cherrier estimates will be a 12-hour drive from Leaf Rapids, about 975 kilometres from the city. Her and her family plan to leave first thing Tuesday morning and drive directly to the Leila sports complex in Winnipeg, which is again serving as a reception centre for evacuees. It may become a congregate shelter, if need be.

Cherrier said this evacuation is smoother than one she went through two years ago, owing to wildfire.

“It was so short notice, no one was prepared, many people ended up evacuating with no IDs, and there were so many other troubles from that evacuation. So I think this time, they’ve been doing pretty good at preparing for it and keeping everybody notified,” she said.

The province is working in the community to coordinate transportation for residents with mobility issues and ensuring everyone has a way out, Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister of the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, said at a news conference Monday.

The Canadian Red Cross will be set up at the Burntwood Hotel in Thompson between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for evacuees needing items such as milk, diapers, snacks or other assistance.

Cherrier, who is a teacher at the Leaf Rapids Education Centre K-12 school, worries what will happen while residents are away.

“If we do lose power, that means we have no store. We have no groceries, you can’t get gas, so if you have no power here and no store, it’s going to be really hard to get through that,” she said.

“If we do lose power, that means we have no store. We have no groceries, you can’t get gas, so if you have no power here and no store, it’s going to be really hard to get through that.”–Liz Cherrier

The only food store in the community is the Co-op grocery store, which has a restaurant attached to it.

Ervin Bighetty, the store’s general manager, is staying behind during the evacuation order to keep the store open so emergency personnel working in the area can eat.

During the community’s wildfire evacuation in 2023, power went out for three days and the store lost $20,000 worth of product. Bighetty hopes new backup generators the store owns will curb that threat.

“We’re able to unplug the freezers and move them because they have wheels, and we can move them closer to the outside where they can be connected to generators, and we can still have a steady food supply and keep it fresh and frozen,” Bighetty said.

He estimates there will be about 60 people in the community working on value protection and fire fighting.

One fire near the community is approximately 14 km away and has burned more than 5,100 hectares. Another nearby fire is 2,000 hectares in size and is the greatest threat to power lines.

Leaf Rapids still had power as of Monday afternoon and Hydro is monitoring the progress of the fire closely, Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said.

“We can’t predict what might happen. Manitoba Wildfire Service is active in the area fighting the fires. Residents preparing for evacuation should follow the instructions of local officials and focus on safely leaving the area.”–Peter Chura

“We can’t predict what might happen. Manitoba Wildfire Service is active in the area fighting the fires. Residents preparing for evacuation should follow the instructions of local officials and focus on safely leaving the area,” Chura said in an email.

Hydro is still assessing damage in some areas hit by fire and don’t yet know the full extent of loss provincewide. Chura estimates the number of damaged poles is in the hundreds. Related infrastructure, such as transformers, has also been damaged.

Areas hit by wildfire, such as Nopiming Provincial Park, saw more than 180 poles burned in the Brereton Lake and Long Lake area, and replacement required boring holes in rock in rugged terrain, Chura said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

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