Manitoba will face higher wildfire risk as hot weather looms, officials say
Province's 2025 wildfire season may not have peaked yet: natural resources minister
Manitoba's Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie says recent rains have left some people "cautiously optimistic" that out-of-control wildfires will be snuffed out soon, but warns the height of this year's wildfire season may still be yet to come.
While some communities are looking at plans for when they can start bringing evacuees back home, fires continue to burn out of control across the province.
As of the end of Wednesday, 21 active wildfires were burning in Manitoba, including nine classified as out of control, the province said.
Bushie thanked personnel who are helping in the "tireless effort" to fight the blazes, including crews that have come from British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Parks Canada and the United States.
"We are truly all hands on deck when it comes to the firefighting effort here," he said.
Cooler temperatures and scattered rain have helped crews contain the fires for now, but Bushie said lightning strikes could bring more fires down the road.
"We're not out of the wildfire season yet," he said.
"Actually, I would almost hazard to say we're not even at the height of our wildfire season yet."
Much of Manitoba is currently under a moderate risk of danger from wildfires, the province said in its Thursday wildfire bulletin.
Although no new fires have been reported in the province during the last 24 hours, it can take two to five days before fires sparked by lightning become noticeable, said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Conservation Officer Service and Manitoba Wildfire Service.
And after a brief period of cooler temperatures, the province will be returning to higher fire danger levels, Hayward said at the news conference.
"As temperatures rise, the potential for flare-ups does increase, so the fires may be kind of laying low in these cooler, wetter temperatures."
Of the 116 wildfires in Manitoba this year, 103 were caused by people, eight were sparked by natural causes and five are under investigation, the province's fire situation report says.
The area burned by wildfires in Canada so far this season is the country's second-largest on record, according to Public Safety Canada.
This year's fire season has seen wildfires so far consume 3.7 million hectares, six times the area of Prince Edward Island. The 10-year average for wildfire seasons is about 800,000 hectares.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting higher-than-normal temperatures across the country through August, especially in provinces east of Manitoba — though the risk of wildfires remains highest in central and western provinces and territories.
Officials want to be confident in Manitoba's ability to contain wildfires before allowing people to return home, Hayward said.
"I know on the ground [that] it can look like the situation is really improving over the last little while, but just as we look ahead at the weather that's coming, we want to be really certain that we have a good handle on things before people repatriate."
Members of about 8,800 Manitoba households are still away from their homes, a provincial spokesperson told CBC News on Wednesday. The majority are staying in hotels or with family and friends.
Province takes charge of evacuation centre's security
There are currently 21,000 wildfire evacuees registered with the Red Cross, according to Christine Stevens, the assistant deputy minister of Manitoba's emergency management organization.
The evacuees are from 27 communities threatened by fire, and six other communities that were evacuated because of air quality concerns, Stevens said.
There are 25 local states of emergency currently active in the province, but no new evacuations have been ordered during the last 24 hours, she said on Thursday.
Manitoba Transportation Minister Lisa Naylor, who is also in charge of the province's emergency management organization, said her government has assumed security responsibilities at a Leila Avenue evacuation centre in Winnipeg.
She said when more than 21,000 people are evacuated, it's like a "small city," which includes people with complex needs and who may be vulnerable.
Naylor would not provide information on what led to the switch or who was providing security services before the changeover. The province is working in partnership with First Nations leaders and local authorities to keep the centre safe, she said.
As of Tuesday, there were about 130 people at the Winnipeg evacuation centre, and more than 180 people at another site in Thompson, a provincial spokesperson said.
Naylor also said evacuees do not need to come to Winnipeg to register with the Red Cross, as it has been offering alternative registration methods for evacuees outside of the city.
Manitoba's wildfire evacuations this year have been significant, she said, describing them as "the largest domestic air operation in the Canadian military's history."
She thanked all the firefighters, volunteers and public servants, as well as crisis support and/or medical workers who have helped out during a time of crisis.
"There's a lot of invisible support, and we appreciate all of it."
Corrections
- An earlier version of this story said 2,100 Manitoba wildfire evacuees are registered with the Red Cross. In fact, the number is 21,000.Jun 13, 2025 12:33 PM EDT
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With files from The Canadian Press