‘No choice but to leave them’: Evacuees flee wildfires in northern Manitoba

Firefighters are desperately trying to save the town of Leaf Rapids as wildfires engulf the community. CTV’s Alex Karpa has more on the situation.

Wildfires continue to wreak havoc across much of northern Manitoba.

Firefighters are desperately trying to save the town of Leaf Rapids, as a wildfire has now spread to the community.

Earlier this week, a fire jumped the Churchill River near town and entered Leaf Rapids, leaving one home, several abandoned structures and some vehicles damaged.

The community is under a mandatory evacuation, and some 350 residents are now mostly in Winnipeg.

Longtime Leaf Rapids resident Elizabeth Charrier says it’s been a tough situation to follow.

“A lot of anxiety,” she said Saturday morning. “We really just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Charrier has been in Winnipeg for over two weeks. She says she feels helpless.

“It’s so scary,” she said. “The last map that I have seen where the fire had impacted was right by the bay, right next to where my house is.”

Charrier was able to bring some important valuables with her to safety, including family photos and her father’s urn, but there were many other things she couldn’t take.

“We had to leave our five dogs,” she said. “We didn’t have any kennels, and we had a packed vehicle. We had no choice but to leave them.”

The Town of Leaf Rapids posted an update on its Facebook page Friday saying fire activity in the community had increased.

“There are five bulldozers working in addition to emergency services staff and police,” the statement reads. “Firefighters from Manitoba, Mexico and additional firefighters from Quebec, expected to arrive today, continue to detect and put out hot spots.”

Power remains out in the community at this time. Fire crews were forced to temporarily leave the area as ash and embers rained on the town. Crews were eventually able to return to continue fire suppression efforts.

For Charrier, it’s a stressful time.

“(It’s) a lot of anxiety. That is the biggest thing,” she said. “Your mind is getting the best of you, thinking of what the possibilities could be, because you don’t know what’s happening right now.”

Ervin Bighetty has been staying at a Winnipeg hotel with his family since they were forced to evacuate two weeks ago.

“Every fire around Leaf Rapids is becoming a threat for the community,” he said outside his hotel room in Winnipeg. “Every day, people keep looking, watching and seeing as things develop, and they are afraid that if and when the fire reaches the community, there won’t be a home to go to.”

He says it’s been hard to get up-to-date information on the situation.

“I have been getting my friends (in the community) to keep me informed, and they are telling me the hydro is out,” he said.

Snow Lake, Lynn Lake still under threat

The town of Snow Lake, south of Leaf Rapids, is also dealing with a spreading wildfire, now within half a kilometre of the town.

“As the fire is close, embers are expected to fall in town limits,” a post on the town’s Facebook page reads. “The town has been divided into zones, with crews constantly patrolling the town to watch for this happening.”

Workers in two mines near the community, and residents in the town, have left. Snow Lake remains under a mandatory evacuation order.

“Sprinklers and other values protection methods are set up, constantly monitored, and are running in the areas of the community closest to the fire,” a post from Saturday reads. “The fire has passed by Lalor mine site. There has been no structural damage, and the mine remains intact.”

Meanwhile, in the town of Lynn Lake, wildfire crews were grounded yesterday due to heavy smoke conditions, but resumed operations Saturday as conditions improved.

“Aerial bucketing operations continued near the Laurie River Generating Station yesterday, where the fire remains within 2 kilometres of the hydro transmission line that supplies power to Lynn Lake,” reads a post from the town’s Facebook page Saturday. “This area continues to be actively monitored and actioned due to the potential threat to critical infrastructure.”

The post says warmer, drier weather is expected over the next few days, which could increase fire activity.

In Thompson, the largest city in northern Manitoba, progress is being made on an out-of-control wildfire north of the city.

Officials there say one new fire broke out in the north on Friday, but crews are already responding. The city is projecting heavy smoke in the region due to fires in Leaf Rapids and along the Saskatchewan border.

‘Basic essentials’ still needed, Manitoba Grand Chief says

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee says he is hearing that more breathing apparatuses and hoses are needed in the north.

But he also says there is still a lack of First Nations firefighters.

“They need people that will be trained. People that will be ready,” he said Saturday. “Instead of allowing external entities to come and fight fires for us. We need to be prepared.”

“You need a lot of manpower, but we simply do not have enough,” he added. “We also need aerial support. We need water bombers, helicopters, reconnaissance.”

Settee believes this is now an opportunity to look at emergency management in a different way for the future.

“We live in a new reality,” he said. “We have to adapt to this climate change, and we have to be more effective. We have to be more proactive, and we have to have a preparedness plan that will be very proactive to the point that we start preparing in the wintertime.”

“This caught us off guard. I think it caught everybody off guard.”