Evacuation orders issued, states of local emergency declared as Manitoba wildfires grow
'Please, please be careful,' Lac du Bonnet reeve pleads as fires burn across province
Evacuation orders have been issued for a number of Manitoba communities, and states of local emergency declared for several provincial parks as wildfires burn thousands of hectares of land across the province.
Those evacuation orders include one for Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba, where cottagers, some residents, commercial resort and lodge operators, backcountry users and campers were forced to leave on Tuesday.
John Toutant, who runs Big Woods Wilderness Outfitters out of a lodge in Nopiming Provincial Park, described a scene of intense smoke and charred trees as people were escorted out of the area.
"Forty-foot trees are burning right to the top. It's immense heat," Toutant told CBC's Radio Noon host Marjorie Dowhos Tuesday. "This fire, I think, moves a lot quicker than anybody was thinking."
The fire was estimated to be about 5,000 hectares in size as of Tuesday afternoon — one of several deemed out of control, according to the province's online fire map.
Toutant said he had about an hour to get ready after learning evacuations were beginning, and called the situation "devastating" for small business owners like him.
"It's a selfish thing in my mind right now ... I'm thinking what am I going to do?" he said, adding he doesn't think he has insurance that will cover his losses.
The areas affected by the evacuation order in the region were the Bird, Booster, Davidson and Flanders lakes in south Nopiming, the Long and Beresford lakes in north Nopiming, and Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River.
Eric Tagesen, who lives in the nearby Bird River area, said Tuesday afternoon he hadn't been forced to leave yet — but his family is ready if things change.
"We've got all our stuff packed by the door, [and] it's 'throw it in the vehicle and go' if we have to," Tagesen said. "How bad it's going to get, we don't know, eh."
States of local emergency have been declared for Nopiming, as well as the Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River provincial parks, the province said in a fire bulletin issued Tuesday morning. All four will remain closed to the public until conditions improve.
All public and private developed areas in the four parks affected by a state of local emergency are now closed to the public. That includes cottage subdivisions, commercial areas, campgrounds, group use sites, day use sites and all recreational areas including trails, beaches, backcountry canoe routes and campsites, the province said.
The provincial government added the Rural Municipality of Alexander had posted evacuation orders for some residents and cottagers in that area, and the nearby Tanco mine agreed to the province's recommendation that they evacuate as well.
An air quality warning has also been issued for a number of communities in Manitoba near the Ontario border, with smoke from wildfires in southern Manitoba causing or expected to cause poor air quality and reduced visibility over the next few days, Environment Canada said in a Tuesday alert.
Out-of-control fires threaten Whiteshell, Lac du Bonnet
The province said it's also taking steps in Whiteshell Provincial Park in response to an out-of-control wildfire along the Ontario border.
As a result, the Mantario Trail, the Whiteshell River Self-Guiding Trail and the water routes, portages and backcountry campsites along the Whiteshell River and Mantario area from Caddy Lake to Lone Island Lake are closed. Those closures will also stay in place until conditions improve.
Doug Edmond, director of the Whiteshell Cottagers Association, said while people in that area haven't been told to leave yet, there have been warnings that evacuations could be on the table.
"They're basically flagging voluntary evacuations, telling people, you know, 'You should be ready to go, have your bags packed, you know, be able to move in an hour,'" Edmond told Radio Noon host Dowhos on Tuesday.
"You're always feeling extremely stressed by this kind of event."
Elsewhere, a fire in the Lac du Bonnet area that hasn't yet been added to the province's wildfire map has already spurred evacuations.
Loren Schinkel, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, said they've already had to evacuate about a dozen people from that community — and hope to get the fire under control soon to avoid having to displace more people.
"It is a significant, significant issue, especially with the wind here," Schinkel said.
"We can't say it [enough], the importance of this: Please, please be careful. You know what, there's a fire ban in place. Remember when you're extinguishing your cigarettes and stuff, please don't toss them out the window. Let's be cognizant because, you know, lives are at stake here."
A spokesperson said Tuesday the province is aware of that fire and has "devoted significant resources to it," but added it would be "premature to talk size or any further details."
Fires burning near Libau, Piney, The Pas areas
Fires continue to burn in a number of other Manitoba communities, including near the community of Libau, about 60 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, which on Tuesday was being fought by local fire departments with support and co-ordination from the provincial fire commissioner's office, a government spokesperson said.
Another out-of-control fire in southeastern Manitoba has also led to an evacuation order being issued by the Rural Municipality of Piney for the townsite of Carrick, where crews were out Tuesday notifying residents because of the possibility of the fire reaching the community.
As of Tuesday afternoon, that fire was estimated to be 1,000 hectares in size. It was also about one kilometre from Carrick, the RM of Piney said in a statement Tuesday.
Provincial Road 203, from the community of Badger to Carrick, remains closed until further notice, the statement said.
A cautionary evacuation order for the south side of Whitemouth Lake Road near the townsite of Florze, which includes the area that runs from Road 65E to Road 68E, is also still in effect — as is the rural municipality's state of local emergency order, the statement said.
And helicopters and ground crews are still working on an out-of-control wildfire that's been burning near the northern town of The Pas since May 3.
While some residents have been able to return home after evacuations were ordered in that area, some are still displaced, and some people have lost homes or other structures, said Lori Forbes, municipal emergency co-ordinator for the Rural Municipality of Kelsey.
"By no means is this fire out," Forbes told Dowhos Tuesday, when the wildfire was estimated by the province to be more than 40,000 hectares in size. Despite the fire's large size, she said, things are "trending in the right direction for our citizens."
Updates on the states of local emergency and the closures and fire restrictions in provincial parks are available on the Manitoba Parks website.
More information about wildfires across the province is available on the government's website. Wildfires can be reported by calling 911 or the TIP line toll-free at 1-800-782-0076.
With files from Zubina Ahmed