Wildfire deaths in Manitoba turn 'an emergency into a tragedy': Premier Wab Kinew
Flags lowered at Manitoba Legislature to honour fire victims
Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the Manitoba Legislative Building to honour two people who died after being trapped by an out-of-control wildfire in the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet.
Premier Wab Kinew, who offered condolences to the family, friends and community members of the victims, called the move "a small gesture towards the sympathies that we feel and how this latest turn in this year's wildfire situation hits on a different emotional level."
"The news of this loss of life changes what was an emergency into a tragedy," he said at a Thursday morning news conference.
The RCMP received a report Tuesday that people were stranded in the area, but first responders couldn't reach them because of the extreme conditions. The bodies of a man and a woman were recovered by police on Wednesday morning.
Loren Schinkel, reeve of the RM of Lac du Bonnet, wasn't far from the Wendigo Beach area where the fire started Monday. He saw the crowning fire leap across the treetops, igniting them as it went.
A hot, gusting wind out of the south "was just pushing it north at a horrendous pace," he said. "In a matter of a few hours, we had 8,400 acres [3,400 hectares] consumed."
WATCH | 'Listen to evacuation orders,' Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says:
Kinew urged people heading into the May long weekend — traditionally the unofficial start to summer and camping season — to listen to evacuation orders and stay out of areas where emergency crews are working.
"This is a really serious situation we're in in Manitoba right now," he said.
As of Thursday, there are 21 fires burning in the province, with a total of 80 recorded so far this season, fire officials said at the news conference. The 20-year average for fires by this time of year is 48.
Whiteshell Provincial Park, a popular cottage and camping destination south and east of Lac du Bonnet, is closed to the public as of 9 a.m. Thursday until at least May 21. Everyone has to be out of the 2,700-square-kilometre park by 1 p.m.
In addition to the Lac du Bonnet fire, there are out-of-control fires north and east of the Whiteshell.
Kinew said a state of emergency will be declared for the Whiteshell area later Thursday morning.
"This situation is very dynamic. We are asking Manitobans to monitor messaging from local authorities and to heed their advice and direction," said Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization.
The Whiteshell reaches to the Ontario border, where an out-of-control fire at Ingolf, Ont., estimated at 23,000 hectares, edged into Manitoba from the Kenora district on Wednesday night. Officials didn't yet have information about how much it has encroached into Manitoba.
Manitoba is assessing properties in Whiteshell Provincial Park to determine which need the most protection at this time. The state of emergency will allow crews to work unimpeded.
"So this May long weekend is going to be challenging in Manitoba. Not only are we dealing with wildfires in the east, where we could use a lot of rain to help us out, we're also dealing with an overland flood warning in western Manitoba as a result of too much precipitation potentially coming in that part of the province," Kinew said.
Schinkel has seen videos taken by public works and hydro employees of the Grausdin Point area, "and frankly, it's devastating, it's heart-wrenching," he said Thursday.
"We've lost 28 dwellings in that area, and it goes without saying the loss of life — you can't really describe it in words. I just want them to know that we're all suffering with them. At the end of the day, we are one big family here."
WATCH | Lac du Bonnet Mayor Ken Lodge says he knew the people who died in the wildfire:
Ken Lodge, mayor of the town of Lac du Bonnet, which neighbours the rural municipality of the same name, echoed those comments.
He knew the couple who died, as did many others, and the deaths have shaken the entire community, he said.
Geographically, the town and RM cover a large area, but "socially, we're all very close," Lodge said.
"They were well-loved and respected within our community. It's a terrible situation and it's a horrible, horrible tragedy that this occurred."
An estimated 800 to 1,000 people have been forced from their homes in the RM, with many staying in town.
One of those is Shirley Oliver, who has lived in Pinawa Bay for 20 years and has never experienced an evacuation before.
"It was horrible," she said. "You're told to get out right away, so you walk out with what's on your back and your medication, and that's it. It's not a nice thing to have to get out of your home like that."
She's worn the same clothes for two days because she has nothing else and can't get back into her home for any belongings.
Oliver is also facing the loss of her temporary lodgings. With the other evacuees and seasonal workers in town, places to stay are few and far between.
"I don't know if I have a room for tonight again, because the place is full," she said.
A live map shows perimeters for the RM of Lac Du Bonnet fire and others in the area:
Crews have made good progress on the RM of Lac du Bonnet fire but the 4,000-hectare blaze is still labelled as out of control and people must stay away, said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister for the Conservation Officer Service and Manitoba Wildfire Service.
Schinkel reiterated those remarks, urging people to bear with the orders.
"This has been a remarkable four days. We're going to get to the end of this process, please be patient," he said.
It hasn't been as intense as the largest wildfire in the province, in the area of Bird River and Nopiming Provincial Park just north of Whiteshell. That one is more than 100,000 hectares and belching thick smoke that's hampering efforts to get water bombers in the air, Hayward said.
Crews there have instead shifted to protecting properties where it's less dangerous.
Meanwhile, about 40 firefighters from British Columbia have been working since Monday on a 42,000-hectare fire near The Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northwestern Manitoba.
They are now finishing up, checking hot spots, and the province is looking into whether they can be redeployed to the eastern part of the province, Hayward said.
Manitoba also made a request Wednesday through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre for an additional 80 firefighters to come to Manitoba.
"We are hopeful that we will be receiving those from across Canada," Hayward said.
Meanwhile, a fire in the rural municipality of Piney, near the Manitoba-U.S. border, remains out of control at around 7,000 hectares.
"Fortunately, it sounds like that area did receive some rain last evening," Hayward said.
"We're still waiting on reports of how much rain fell over the specific fire, but we'll take anything we can get at this point."
The Manitoba government has faced some criticism about how people were notified of evacuations in communities under threat.
Kinew was asked Thursday why the province didn't use the emergency alert system to send messages to cellphones.
"When we talk about the response, we're talking about following a plan that has been set up and drilled and practised, and because of that prep work, we don't necessarily want to change the MO [modus operandi] unless there's a serious, I guess, call for that to happen," he said.
"So I can tell you that the idea of putting out an emergency alert was part of the discussions that we've had, but in the first instance, we go with the plan that's been drilled."
Kinew intends to visit some of the impacted communities, but he's not sure when.
"That might occur today but again, I don't want to get in the way at the same time," he said.
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With files from Cory Funk