Tataskweyak evacuees warned not to return after leaders declare state of emergency over water treatment plant

Just hours after Tataskweyak Cree Nation announced it was lifting its wildfire evacuation order, the northern Manitoba First Nation declared a state of emergency on Tuesday morning after its water treatment plant stopped working. 

In a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday, council said the community's water was turned off after water tests indicated high levels of aluminum. Leaders said they will need to do further testing after the plant's pipes and reservoir have been cleaned. 

On Monday, Tataskweyak's chief and council announced on social media that the evacuation was being lifted at 6:45 p.m. that night. 

The First Nation, also known as Split Lake, first declared a state of emergency on May 29 due to a nearby wildfire and an evacuation order was issued the next day. 

Evacuees from the community were sent to Thompson, Brandon and Winnipeg, as well as Niagara Falls, Ont.

In Tuesday's state of emergency post, the First Nation asked that returning residents stay where they are while the chief and council work with Indigenous Services Canada  and Health Canada to fix the issue. 

Council said the Canadian Red Cross has been instructed to stop organizing travel for returning wildfire evacuees until the treatment plant is functioning again. 

Melanie Spence, who had been staying in Thompson since May 29, had planned to drive home to Tataskweyak on Tuesday. 

"I was very thrilled yesterday when we were given the news [that] the evacuation was lifted. But first thing this morning we were told that [we] can't go home now," Spence said. 

She said she plans to drive home to grab a few things before hunkering down in Thompson again. 

"The update today, that just clarifies that no one can go home," she said. 

Later on Tuesday, Tataskweyak council posted another statement warning there will be a community-wide power outage on Thursday, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., while Manitoba Hydro works to repair power structures that were damaged by wildfire. 

Council said more scheduled outages are planned to complete this repair work. 

As of Tuesday night, it was unclear when residents can go home. 

CBC News has reached out to Chief Doreen Spence, Manitoba Hydro, Indigenous Services Canada and Health Canada, but did not receive a response before publication.