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Manitoba·First Person

My family and I had to leave our home due to wildfires. Here's a photo diary of what happened next

Lori Osborne, her four children and her partner, Stephan Robinson, were among the thousands who had to leave Pimicikimak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba due to the threat of wildfires. She diarized their journey through photos and notes. 

'I got scared, I'm not gonna lie.… I never travelled with all 4 of my kids,' writes Pimicikamak's Lori Osborne

Lori Osborne · for CBC News ·
A road closed sign stands on a highway in the foreground. In the background is an RCMP vehicle. The sky is clouded in smoke from forest fires.
Highway 373 toward Pimicikamak Cree Nation and Cross Lake, Man., was closed just off near the junction with Highway 6 due to wildfires on June 2, a few days after an evacuation order was issued. Lori Osborne and her family were among the thousands who had to leave. (Brittany Greenslade/CBC)

This First Person article is the experience of Lori Osborne, a mother of four from Pimicikamak Cree Nation. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see this FAQ. You can read more First Person articles here.

On May 28, Pimicikamak Cree Nation was placed under an emergency evacuation order, as wildfires burned out of control near the northern Manitoba First Nation and surrounding communities.

Lori Osborne, her four children and her partner, Stephan Robinson, were among the thousands who had to leave, and just found out earlier this week they'd finally be able to go home.

Osborne diarized their journey with photos and notes. 

Two girls sit in a window seat, wearing masks and with backpacks, with trees and a road visible through the window.
Meena Osborne, right, and her cousin Scarlett wait for evacuation to begin. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

This is the first picture I decided to take before we were all told to evacuate, sitting around the living room with our bags all out and listening to the chief talk on radio and tell us to evacuate. I remember just rushing around and grabbing the things I needed. I packed as much as I could for me and my four kids.

And let me tell you, that was hard. I probably packed more pants than shirts for my eight-month-old baby, Greenly. I packed two shirts and two pants for my son, Lakota, because I didn't do laundry. It was hectic packing, not only for myself but my kids — making sure I packed enough Pampers or milk, shoving things in to make it fit.

A baby girl with soft black hair and dark eyes full of tears, wearing a purple hoodie, sits in a bus.
Greenly Osborne, age eight months, en route to the ferry in Norway House, about 70 kilometres south of Pimicikamak. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

Greenly was starting to get super fussy trying to get across the ferry to Norway House. I would have to carry her around outside sometimes just to keep her busy! Do you know how hard it can be to entertain a baby in a cramped up vehicle? (Ha ha.) 

I had my daughter Meena, my son Lakota and my niece Scarlett sing baby songs, such as Icky Sticky Bubble Gum and The Wheels On the Bus. I thought it would take forever to get to the ferry.

A baby in the background, and a young girl, with long dark hair and wearing a pink and white sweatsuit in the foreground, lay on the grass in between two parked vehicles and a wire fence.
Greenly, left, and her sister Meena lie on the grass, waiting for the plane ride. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

This is Greenly and Meena waiting for the Hercules plane. I remember the wait was so hard! I didn't have a stroller for my baby girl, so I'd been carrying her a lot. Me and my boyfriend, Stephan Robinson, had to take turns holding her. I almost blacked out, because I was so hot and sweaty and tired. I just got so tired, I decided to lay her on the ground with her sister and me.

A family sits on the crowded floor of a Hercules plane, carrying backpacks on their laps.
Lori Osborne, in the background, with her children and her boyfriend, Stephan Robinson, far right, on the Hercules flight. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

This one here! It's when I realized, 'Oh, OK, this is serious. We're actually leaving our home!'

I got scared, I'm not gonna lie. I'm not used to leaving my hometown. I'm not used to travelling. I never travelled with all four of my kids. Me and Stephan had to reassure my babies everything was gonna be all right. We just had to go on a trip to be safer.

Workers wearing reflective jackets walk across a cement floor, with boxes of diapers and water in the background.
Workers stock up supplies for evacuees at the arena in Peguis First Nation, about 370 kilometres south of Pimicikamak. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

After our Hercules plane ride, we got into a bus right away, which took us to Peguis First Nation. When I hopped on the bus after settling down with my kids, I started crying. It was about 12:30 in the morning when we started moving, and I realized all my kids were cold. I didn't pack a blanket or warmer clothes.

Me and Stephan had to take our sweaters to put on our babies, but there were only two of us and we had four cold babies. My son used mine, and our eight-month-old really needed one. My Meena was curled up in a ball inside her shirt. I cried and felt so sorry for them during that whole bus ride.

A row of children lay down on cots with blankets around them, on an arena floor.
Osborne's children settle in. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

When we arrived in Peguis, as we were walking into the multiplex, I noticed lots of cots with blankets and sheets on top of them. I noticed bottled water and snacks, and when I got into the washroom, I noticed clean towels hanging everywhere, shampoo, conditioner, soap, tooth brushes, etc. They even had a place for Pampers, Enfamil and a nursing station all in one building! 

A man and young girl sit on an arena floor, playing with wooden building blocks.
Robinson, left, and Osborne's oldest daughter, Sophie, distract themselves with wooden building logs at the multiplex arena at Peguis First Nation. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

Everything was literally ready when we got in, and boy, did I feel so much peace. My kids had a place to sleep, a blanket and a pillow. They gave us so many blankets — they gave us dividers, so we could have privacy, and Stephan made a little shelter for us. It felt like camping for my kids.

View from above of four children (one of whom is in a stroller) sitting on a floor in front of a long table with boxes stacked up on it.
Osborne's four children wait in a crowded airport for a flight to Niagara Falls, Ont., almost 2,000 kilometres from their home in Pimicikamak. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

They loved it so much here in Peguis; they had food my kids loved (like noodles and Kraft Dinner), bouncy houses, toys, an arcade and a pool table.

But then, after spending five days in Peguis, they announced on the intercom we had to pack because we were going to Niagara Falls, Ont. Let me tell you, my heart dropped!

I never ever travelled that far, let alone with all four of my kids. I got nervous, scared and worried about my babies.

A man sits on a bus, with a small boy sitting next to him and facing a small girl and baby in the seats opposite from them.
Robinson sits with the children en route to Niagara Falls. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

We packed and hopped on the bus. Then we waited all day at the airport to be boarded on the plane. We got word that we were definitely gonna be on that plane. 

So Stephan put our bags into the plane — only to be told we weren't getting on that flight. My kids waited around hungry and tired for nothing. I cried as soon as our councillor told us we weren't getting on the plane. She comforted me and said, "I'm sorry, I really am." 

I was just so tired of travelling and making my kids sleep on the floor.

A man sits in a chair next to a woman seated with a baby on her lap, with a boy and a girl standing behind them, in front of a large window.
Osborne, seated, said they were grateful to make a Niagara Falls hotel room a temporary home. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

The next day, after a two-and-a-half-hour plane ride, we had a one-hour bus ride to Niagara Falls.

We finally made it there. And so for the time being, Niagara Falls became home. We finally got a soft bed and two big rooms.

A little girl wearing a red and white baseball cap and orange sandals sits on a chair with her feet up on the desk.
After sleeping on cots in arenas and floors in airports, and long bus rides, Meena settles in at the hotel room in Niagara Falls. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

My Meena was at peace. Look at her relaxing with her feet up, chilling. I felt better looking at her that way!

I always wondered, "Why Niagara Falls, out of all places?" But it was amazing. 

A man wearing a black T-shirt, red shorts and a backpack pushes a stroller down a city street.
Robinson pushes Greenly in a stroller through the streets of Niagara Falls. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

On our first day there, we went for a stroll. It was a beautiful sightseeing day.

A large waterfall at nighttime, with multi-colored floodlights lighting up the falls.
Osborne says she went 'overboard' with her camera as she took in the sights of Niagara Falls. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

Niagara Falls was something. I might have gone overboard with the pictures, but Niagara Falls was something I never experienced. I'm so glad I got to experience it with our kids.

A man sits at the edge of a large water fountain with two children seated next to him and a baby in a stroller in front of him.
Robinson poses for more photos with the kids during their unexpected stay in Niagara Falls. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

We spent seven days in Niagara Falls. I won't forget it.

But then we got bad news. My babies' Papa Ross, their grandfather, had passed away. We took it hard — we cried in front of our kids in our hotel. We had to tell our babies that their papa, whom they were sooo close to, had passed away.

Carl Ross had been on dialysis for 12 years. He'd been nothing but good to me and my babies. 

A woman stands with a baby in her arms, next to an elderly man, behind three children standing in the foreground.
Osborne, with baby Greenly in her arms, next to Carl Ross, her children's grandfather, right after they were all displaced from their homes. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

This was the last picture we took of him, when we were first evacuated and before we went to Niagara Falls. 

But now, it was time to pack up once again and leave. We flew back to Winnipeg as soon as we heard, where my mother-in-law found a hotel room for us. This is back in Winnipeg (see below), waiting for a ride to the Travelodge. For my babies, it meant another long travel day.

A baby lies down curled up in an orange blanket on the bed of a pick-up truck, next to a man standing and leaning over her.
Another long travel day for eight-month-old Greenly, as she and Robinson wait for their ride to a hotel in Winnipeg, about 530 kilometres south of Pimicikamak. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

It's not that bad at the Travelodge. I'm just glad I'm closer to home and I get to see so many familiar faces. My kids love it. We feel at home.

A baby sits in a playpen surrounded by toys and a Canadian Red Cross blanket.
Greenly enjoys her playpen in a Winnipeg hotel room, with comfort blankets provided by the Canadian Red Cross. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

News! After almost three weeks of travel, we just got word the evacuation is lifted! We get to go home!

A woman kneels on a bed and a man sits in front of her with a baby on his lap, with three children sitting on the bed around them.
Osborne, left, and Robinson, seated, with Sophie, Meena and Greenly Osborne, and Lakota Robinson. They had just learned they could pack up their hotel room and head back home. (Submitted by Lori Osborne)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lori Osborne

Lori Osborne is 29-year-old mother to four beautiful, sweet kids. She is from Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba.

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