Evacuation orders for Caddy Lake, West Hawk Lake and Ingolf, Ont. to be lifted
Travel and burning restrictions in eastern, central and western Manitoba lifted
Evacuation orders for Manitoba's Caddy Lake, West Hawk Lake and Ingolf, Ont. are expected to be lifted by Tuesday, according to a news release issued by the Manitoba government on Sunday.
Officials from both provinces told those who have been forced from their homes and cottages the news at a meeting on Sunday, too.
For Trevor Down, who lives in the north end of West Hawk Lake year-round, the news comes as a relief, even if it's also a notice of more work ahead.
Down was ordered to leave his home around 9 p.m. on May 6. He said his son was visiting from Kenora, Ont. at the time, which meant he had extra help packing up belongings in the two-hour timeframe that was allotted.
"I'm not looking forward to hauling what we moved back up … As a permanent resident, you have more possessions than someone who's [staying in a cottage] and not here six months of the year," he said.
While the fire was disappointing, it wasn't a surprise, Down said.
"It was remarkable how dry it was [outside]," he said.
"When you walked through the beaver pond in my backyard, dust would rise walking through the grass, which is very unusual."
Despite the difficulty brought upon by the blaze, Down described feeling "lucky," saying the firefighters in his area deserve "maximum accolades."
"Where I was staying, you could hear those planes in the air as long as there was daylight," he said.
According to the news release issued by the province on Sunday, 35 crews are still working on the wildfire in Caddy Lake, which is now 65 per cent under control. Travel and burning restrictions in eastern, central and western Manitoba have been lifted.
Evacuation orders for Nora Lake and Florence Lake — both located in Manitoba — are still in effect. A stretch of Provincial Road 312, which starts one kilometre east of Highway 44 and ends at the Ontario border is closed, too.
The news release also says a separate fire in Beresford Lake, located in Nopiming Provincial Park, is 75,000 hectares, but it is 60 per cent contained.
Due to that fire, the Beresford and Wallace campgrounds are still closed, and the mandatory evacuation of the Beresford cottage subdivision is still in effect. An active evacuation order in Wallace Lake affects 61 cottages and one lodge as well.
According to the Manitoba government, officials are closely monitoring conditions at Long Lake.
The Hunt Lake, Mantario and McGillivary Falls hiking trails are closed in Whiteshell Provincial Park until wildfire conditions improve.
with files from Nelly Gonzalez