'Pray for rain,' Manitoba premier says as thousands more flee out-of-control wildfires across province
Wab Kinew urges Manitobans to be calm as crews battle unprecedented fires across all parts of the province
Premier Wab Kinew says he expects thousands more people from northern parts of Manitoba under threat from wildfires to be evacuated from their communities and sent to other parts of the province — predominantly to Winnipeg.
It's a situation Manitoba has never seen before, as large-scale wildfires burn in every region of the province at the same time, Kinew said at a Friday afternoon news conference, calling the current situation a "serious inflection point," particularly for some of Manitoba's larger northern communities.
"As we head into the weekend, pray for rain. We haven't seen rain in the forecast yet. That could really help — sustained rainfall, in particular," he said. "But in the absence of that, the past few days have been very challenging, and that may continue."
The premier said the wind is expected to soon shift to some "unhelpful directions" for the spread of the fires, which is likely to directly threaten the northwest city of Flin Flon and pose challenges for other communities, including the First Nations communities of Pukatawagan, in northwestern Manitoba, and Tataskweyak to the east.
Kinew said the province expects "some very, very challenging conditions" in particular in Flin Flon, about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, and the surrounding area later Friday afternoon. A final evacuation of that city, which has a population of about 5,000, has now happened, with only firefighters and those from the offices of the fire commissioner and the RCMP remaining.
A number of other communities are also being evacuated due to wildfires, including Bakers Narrows in northern Manitoba and Bissett, near Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba, Kinew said.
He expected Manitoba to reach about 17,000 wildfire evacuees in total later Friday.
The effort to help Manitoba battle its out-of-control wildfires — which already included crews and resources from a number of other provinces and territories — is now also being bolstered by 100 more firefighters and 25 logistics managers from the U.S., Kinew said.
"We cannot thank other jurisdictions enough," he said. "It really does just underline how serious this situation is."
The province has also set up a hotline for people to get updates on family members who were moved from hospital beds or personal care homes to other regions because of wildfires, which can be reached at 204-788-8200 locally or 1-888-315-9257 toll-free, Kinew said.
WATCH | More evacuations coming, Manitoba premier says:
The premier said he understands people might have questions or criticism about parts of Manitoba's response this wildfire season, but added he wants to reassure people that "you have the best people leading the response."
Hotel rooms have been hard to come by for evacuees, and when available are prioritized for medical patients or people with accessibility needs, while others are sent to evacuation centres set up in venues like arenas, said Kinew.
"Everyone who is working on your behalf is working together, and ... we are making important progress to move Manitobans to safety, to push back the wildfires and to ensure that people will be able to return to their homes and the lives that we're so proud of here in this province," he said.
"I think the most important thing for Manitobans to understand is that we need to be calm. The situation can be very concerning, can be very emotional."
Military helping with evacuations
Kinew said military Hercules planes are being used to bring people from Pimicikamak Cree Nation who were temporarily in Norway House Cree Nation to Winnipeg.
Meanwhile, other aircraft are bringing people from Pukatawagan to The Pas for medical attention if needed — where the hospital is on code orange as a precaution — before transporting them to Winnipeg as well.
The situation in Pukatawagan became dangerous and "scary" for residents overnight, he said, when the fire situation got considerably worse and threatened the airport — creating a "desperate need" to get people out faster.
The premier gave updates on a number of other communities affected by the blazes Friday, including Sherridon, which he said is surrounded by fire and currently being held off, and Tataskweyak Cree Nation (also known as Split Lake), where he said a fire started Thursday.
Communities like Thompson, Portage la Prairie, The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Norway House Cree Nation and Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation "are all welcoming people into congregate shelters" as they flee the fires, said Kinew, who also thanked front-line workers for the "very compassionate and important work" they're doing to help evacuees.
As of Thursday (the most recent update from the province), there were 22 active wildfires in Manitoba. There have been a total of 103 already this season, far above the province's 20-year annual average of 80 at this time of year.
Manitoba declared a provincewide state of emergency over the wildfires on Wednesday.
The Manitoba FireView map includes locations, sizes and other information about the wildfires.
WATCH | Premier Wab Kinew's full May 30 news conference:
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