Flin Flon evacuees eagerly return after month out of northern Manitoba community due to wildfires
Long lines of vehicles queue up to enter city, while others ready for long bus ride home from Winnipeg
Thousands of people forced to flee Flin Flon are returning home after nearly a month holed up in hotels and community spaces far from the wildfires that threatened the northern Manitoba city one month ago.
A local evacuation order officially lifted Wednesday due to improving conditions.
Ken Brough was in the long line of vehicles queued up outside the city early in the morning, filled with people eager to get back.
"Being away so long is not good," Brough said. "I never thought we'd be evacuated."
About 4,800 people from Flin Flon had to leave May 28 after a mandatory evacuation was triggered by wildfires encircling the city, about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
Manitoba lifted a provincial state of emergency earlier this week thanks in part to favourable weather conditions and precipitation that have slowed down some of the fast-moving wildfires.
Brough's home was untouched by the fires. Not so for his daughter and son-in-law, who lost their home and store in Denare Beach, Sask., about 20 kilometres southwest of Flin Flon.
"It's terrible," he said. "I am relieved that mine is OK, but I feel for everyone else. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
Brough stayed in Winnipeg with his wife for three weeks and in Edmonton with his brothers for one week, anxiously killing time.
"Our people are anxious to go … excited," George Fontaine, mayor of Flin Flon, told CBC News.
"The town itself shouldn't be seeing any real signs of distress, because it's been protected right through this whole thing amazingly."
He was with a wave of evacuees registered with the Red Cross who left their temporary hotel accommodations in Winnipeg Wednesday morning and filed onto buses for the 800-kilometre drive back to Flin Flon.
The fire in the area remains out of control, at roughly 370,000 hectares in size.
Fontaine said though the fires around Flin Flon remain active, firefighting officials on the ground, along with recent rains, have helped beat back the blaze to a point where it's safe to return.
Homes, buildings and businesses in Flin Flon were saved.
"We should be OK unless the fire takes a bad turn, which it could do," Fontaine said. "People are going to be warned that it's possible that they could have to do it again. We're not expecting that."
Michael Clarke and others busing expect to arrive home Wednesday night after a nine-hour drive.
"There's some anxiety about whether stores are going to be up and going," he said.
"Everyone's got a fridge to throw out; I guess we lost power for about 24 hours. Really just hoping my house is as I left it, and that's all I can hope for."
Water and electricity are back on, and local grocery stores have reopened, though Fontaine said officials have recommended evacuees bring with them what they can, as supplies on store shelves may be limited.
'Huge undertaking'
Supplies will also be handed out to those in need in Flin Flon. The Whitney Forum skating rink has transformed into a donation distribution depot.
Flin Flon Deputy Mayor Alison Dallas-Funk, who is also director of Lord's Bounty Food Bank, said the hope is that local grocery stores will have a more robust stock by Monday.
It took a team of many officials and volunteers to ensure city services and local businesses were prepared for evacuees to return, she said.
"It was a huge undertaking," Dallas-Funk said.
There's a mix of happiness and sadness in the air Wednesday, she said.
"We know that we have a lot of community that has had a loss, but I think that everybody is extremely happy to be home," Dallas-Funk said.
"Thirty days is very emotionally tiring, physically and financially. So I think everybody is excited to see friendly faces and have community back."
The pharmacy and local emergency room have reopened as have fuel services, Dallas-Funk said.
Brough said it was tough for many who wished to somehow help but felt helpless through the height of the fire threats.
"Just want to say thanks to all the firefighters for the jobs they did," he said. "Can't thank them enough."
Though conditions have improved around Flon Flon and other regions, others remain under close watch.
Lynn Lake, which was evacuated around the same time as Flin Flon late last month, is bracing for another potential evacuation.
The town Facebook page said late Tuesday that it was possible another local mandatory evacuation order could be issued on Wednesday or Thursday. An air quality warning remains in effect for Lynn Lake.
As of Monday there were still 18 fires burning — five of them out of control, the latest provincial fire situation report said.
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With files from Josh Crabb and Gary Solilak