Leaf Rapids home burns after wildfire leaps river, other vacant homes damaged
Tataskweyak Cree Nation residents expected to start going home this weekend
One occupied home and as many as six vacant homes have been damaged by wildfire in the northern Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids, after flames jumped the Churchill River and entered the community Wednesday night.
Manitoba government officials held a news conference in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon to provide updates on the Leaf Rapids situation as well as other wildfires around the province.
Earlier in the day, a post on the Town of Leaf Rapids Facebook page said a house on Utik Crescent was the only structure that appeared to have burned. It is normally occupied but the resident is among the town's 350 people who have been evacuated since early July.
The other structures that burned are homes that were vacant for some time, said Blair McTavish, assistant deputy minister for Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure. In all, including the home that was being lived in, a total of five to seven houses burned.
A number of vehicles and several hydro poles were also damaged, though the power remains on, he said.
There are 124 active wildfires across Manitoba, according to the government's most recent fire bulletin. There have already been 333 wildfires this year, well above the average of 252 for this date.
There are 20 states of local emergency around the province, and more evacuations have occurred over the past 24 hours.
Leaf Rapids — about 150 kilometres northwest of Thompson, or 740 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — is surrounded by three fires.
The one that leaped across the river and damaged the home forced fire crews to temporarily retreat from the front lines into a safe zone before returning to resume their efforts.
Fire crews have been in the community for a couple of weeks, creating fireguards by cutting back trees, setting up sprinklers on structures and doing other prep work, said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Wildfire Service.
"They were definitely planning for something to happen in the community," she said.
"The fire's behaviour yesterday was very, very intense. Crews talked about how the fire was essentially creating its own weather, and there was all this additional wind and heat, and the movement of the fire was just really, really rapid."
Crews started to notice the fire behaviour changing in the late afternoon, with winds gusting much stronger than earlier in the day and beyond what had been forecast, Hayward said.
"It escalated so quickly, within an hour or two, there was just nothing that really could be done to reduce that fire activity. The smoke was very, very thick as well over the fire, so any aircraft would have been pretty ineffective, because they can't see what's below them and what they're dropping [water] on."
About the same time, ashes and burning embers began falling in the community, so the crews decided at that point to retreat and shelter at their base.
A message that day on Facebook by the provincially appointed town administration said firefighters had left town, but that was incorrect. A provincial spokesperson later clarified that some emergency personnel had to leave, but fire crews remained in the area, in a safe zone briefly, before resuming fire suppression efforts.
"It was obviously a chaotic situation. I understand it was quite frantic at the time people were leaving the community," Hayward said on Thursday.
"What might have started out as a message that 'We're retreating to safety' or 'We're leaving temporarily' could quickly, and very innocently, have turned into 'They've left and abandoned the community.' I think it was probably just a factor of the speed at which everything was happening."
McTavish said the province is going to be working with the town administration to ensure they have accurate and timely information.
Winds are expected to be fairly strong again Thursday and create a challenging situation, "but we do see some precipitation in the forecast beginning tomorrow, so hopefully that materializes, as that should really help," Hayward said.
Songs and prayers for Leaf Rapids
About 40 evacuees from Leaf Rapids, staying at a hotel in Winnipeg, took part in a short march to Westview Park (better known as Garbage Hill) at noon Thursday.
They gathered to walk in support of one another, and to sing, drum and pray for their community as it goes through the wildfire battle.
"A lot of us have worked all our lives to have the houses that we do have there," said Lianna Anderson. "This is all that we have left."
She said the confused messaging about the fire situation on Wednesday was stressful for the evacuees.
"We were getting piecemeal information, nobody really knew what was happening," Anderson said, calling for someone to provide basic information. "People need to get to know what's happening and where it's happening."
In an emailed statement Thursday, Manitoba Opposition Leader Obby Khan decried what he called "the ongoing breakdown of government communication" during the wildfire crisis and called on the province to take action immediately.
"Last night, essential workers evacuated Leaf Rapids. Today, officials told the media that they were not sure who had evacuated, where they went, or how they got there," Khan said in the statement. "This breakdown of communication from the province has been a recurring pattern throughout this crisis."
In an email statement to CBC News, a government spokesperson said town halls will be held regularly in partnership with Canadian Red Cross, the province and the town administrator to update residents and address any concerns.
As well, information and updates about the wildfire response will be posted at hotels where Leaf Rapids evacuees are staying.
Elizabeth Charrier said the emotions of the evacuees, so far from home, are in turmoil.
"We were sad last night but I think … we're getting upset now. This is our home, we're watching it burn," she said. "Most people just came here with a bag. They left everything back there. We just don't know if we'll have it to go home to."
Many of the evacuees are also demanding more action from the province — including more crews and more equipment.
"The people that are putting their boots on the ground right now are working really hard, but we just think that there could be more. We need more help," Charrier said.
Tataskweyak residents going home
A fire near Snow Lake advanced somewhat toward the community, pushed by northwest winds, Hayward said.
Hudbay Minerals' Lalor mine, just west of the town, took a "direct hit" by flames on Wednesday, she said. It had sprinklers going, which helped limit the damage, while crews were able to respond quickly.
The mine had still been operating but with "a fairly minimal, kind of skeleton-crew level of people," Hayward said.
The Snow Lake crews are prepared, and "the community is ready to be defended should that fire make its way further towards town," she said.
Crews are also getting the edge on fires at Garden Hill and at Mystery Lake near Thompson, aided by favourable weather.
"They've been able to make some really good progress, and all of our containment lines are holding at this time," she said.
Thompson has been under threat for two weeks but "the city's looking quite secure at this time," Hayward said.
The situation in Tataskweyak Cree Nation, also known as Split Lake, has improved to the point where residents can start planning to return, Hayward said. Nearly 200 people have been out since early July.
Hot spots are still being addressed, but it's safe enough that the first returnees could be home this weekend, McTavish said.
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With files from Rosanna Hempel