Caddy Lake cottage owners watch nervously as wildfire grows

Cottage owners on Caddy Lake are nervously watching from afar as a wildfire near the Manitoba-Ontario border inches closer to cabins that have been longtime family gathering places for them.

Strong winds, dry conditions and a lack of rainfall have allowed two fires — one in and around Nopiming Provincial Park, the other a couple hours to the south near Caddy Lake — to expand in all directions since they were both first detected May 5.

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The wildfire has covered 2,800 hectares and is expected to continue growing due to dry and windy conditions, fire officials in Ontario said Monday evening.

Three cottages have been evacuated at Caddy Lake. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for 50 cottages in the area, but most of them were unoccupied.

Onalee Ames, who owns a cabin on the east side of Caddy Lake, drove from Winnipeg on Monday, hoping she could retrieve some personal items from the cabin.

Her family has gone there for 35 years and it holds a lot of memories, she said.

But with the highway to the area closed to traffic, Ames said all she can do now is hope for the best.

"It's hard for me because my father has Alzhiemer's [disease], so our cabin is sort of a place we go to remember," she said.

"We all come on the weekends, all of us, and we spend family time, so that will be a loss if these cabins go down."

Two of the cottages under the evacuation order belong to Meredith Daun's mother and aunt.

Daun has been following online updates on the wildfire from her home in Morden, Man. As of Monday evening, the fire was two to six kilometres away from the cottages, which are next to the Caddy Lake Girl Guide camp on the southeast side.

"It's anxiety-provoking. It's like watching the fire come in slow motion," she said.

'A lot of memories for us'

Daun said she and her family have met with cousins, grandparents and other relatives every summer at the cottages, which have been in the family for almost 60 years.

"It holds a lot of memories for us. It was one that my grandma and my grandpa had bought," she said, adding that a nearby shed stores all of her grandfather's tools.

"It's not about the loss of the building, but sort of some of the items inside," she says, her voice breaking.

Daun said she cannot retrieve some of her grandparents' items from the cottages, as conditions in the area are not safe.

"We don't want to be a hindrance to anybody fighting the fire, of course," she said. "The highway and the roads are closed. They've evacuated the area."

Daun said some firefighters from Morden have gone to help fight the fires, so her daughter has drawn a thank-you card for them that they plan to drop off at the local fire hall on Tuesday.

She added that she's thankful to firefighters who are battling the wildfire not only to protect her family's cottage, but also to save people's homes in the area. Daun added the fires in Fort McMurray puts this situation in perspective.

"Because it's not our home, we have places to live, I just can't imagine what they're going through right now ... even watching and wondering if it was their house that got hit," she said.

The Manitoba government is encouraging concerned cottagers and others to check the @MBGovNews Twitter account for the most timely updates on the fire. Otherwise, fire updates are available on the province's website and on regular afternoon bulletins released by the province.