Sirens, smoke and panic: Evacuee describes fleeing Cormorant wildfire
'There was a lot of people … people panicking and everyone with their bags and their pets'
Chaotic and scary is how Amie Ryan describes the rush to evacuate Cormorant on Tuesday afternoon, when a wildfire moved closer to the northern Manitoba community.
"We thought the fire went out, and then all of a sudden overnight it started up again. The wind picked up and it was coming straight for the town," she said Wednesday morning.
"It really scared me when the sirens were going off and the fire truck was going around with the [loudspeaker], telling everyone that it was an hour's notice and we all had to meet at the school. There was buses waiting for everybody."
About 300 people were forced to leave the community on the east shore of Cormorant Lake, about 60 kilometres northeast of The Pas and 540 km northwest of Winnipeg, around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The out-of-control fire was 800 hectares in size and about 12 kilometres north of Cormorant, said Tuesday's wildfire bulletin from the Manitoba government.
On Monday, people were told to have their bags packed and be ready to go, but at that point, the fire didn't appear to be too much of a threat, Ryan said.
Then the wind changed direction and pushed the fire right at Cormorant.
"It was very smoky in our town. The kids were all coughing," said Ryan, who packed belongings for herself and three children, including a six-month-old baby.
At the school, where people were registering as evacuees and boarding buses to the evacuation reception centre at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, it was chaotic and emotional, she said.
"There was a lot of people … people panicking and everyone with their bags and their pets."
Ryan registered, but rather than go to Winnipeg, she was able to get a ride in a private vehicle to The Pas, where she's staying with her sister.
"It would have been hard to travel all that way [to Winnipeg] with my son, because he's autistic, and my newborn," she said.
Now that her family is safe, Ryan said she's praying for two things: "I hope that they could get it under control [and] I just hope it doesn't reach our town."
With files from Meaghan Ketcheson