More than 700 Manitoba wildfire evacuees housed in hotels this week, province says

Hundreds more Manitoba wildfire evacuees have been moved to hotel rooms as 10 more hotels have made rooms available to people displaced by out-of-control blazes.

Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister of Manitoba's Emergency Management Organization, said just over 700 more wildfire evacuees have been moved to hotel room settings since Monday. A total of 68 hotels are now making rooms available to evacuees.

There are currently four provincially run congregate shelters in Winnipeg, with the primary reception on the second level of the RBC Convention Centre, the province said. Evacuees can go there to register with the Canadian Red Cross, or call 1-800-863-6582.

Stevens said the American Red Cross was deployed to help set up the RBC Convention Centre for evacuees.

"They are experts when it comes to establishing those very large centres," she said.

Nearly 13,000 Manitobans have been evacuated due to wildfires so far. Roughly 6,000 are in Manitoba hotels, 1,100 are in congregate shelters and 1,300 are in Ontario hotels.

"We know that it's really hard to be away from home," Stevens said at a news conference on Thursday. "People have questions and are eager for some clarity around why some have moved to hotel rooms and why some others haven't."

The process is "not simple," Stevens said, because the province aims to match available hotel rooms with the support people need. That means looking at mobility issues, proximity to services and access to food if needed.

"All of those things matter to us a lot."

The province is experiencing its worst wildfire season in 30 years, with more than 10,000 square kilometres of land burned so far.

There have been 313 wildfires to date, said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Conservation Officer Service and Manitoba Wildfire Service — well above the average for this date of 229 fires.

The province had 118 active wildfires on Thursday, Hayward said, including fires that remain out of control near evacuated communities such as Garden Hill, Lynn Lake, Marcel Colomb First Nation and Leaf Rapids.

"After some precipitation in a few areas over the last few days, we're definitely starting to see fire activity start to pick up as things dry out," Hayward said at the news conference. Lightning strikes have also been sparking new fires.

Although there are active wildfires nearby, there's currently no risk to the towns of Wabowden, Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids in northwestern Manitoba, she said.

Nearly 300 personnel from outside of Manitoba are helping douse the flames, including 263 firefighters — three-quarters of them from Mexico, Hayward said.

Extreme wildfire danger in northeastern Manitoba has forced another community to evacuate, as Stevenson Island in Island Lake is being evacuated on Thursday and Friday, Stevens said.

Five of the 15 people there will stay behind to keep an eye on infrastructure that supports Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, Stevens said. The Island Lake Airport is on Stevenson Island.

The Canadian Armed Forces ended its wildfire assistance operation in Garden Hill on Monday, after helping to evacuate over 1,500 people from the community in northeastern Manitoba.

Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday that the costs and revenue loss resulting from Manitoba's wildfire season this year are estimated to exceed $50 million.

The premier also promised an internal review of the province's response to the wildfire season, which would look at things like the province's wildfire fighting efforts, emergency social services and safety co-ordination.