The province’s wildfire season is now the worst on record in the last 30 years, according to the Manitoba government’s latest fire bulletin. Over 1.55 million hectares have burned in the province, which remains under a provincial state of emergency. The province said the state of emergency is in effect until Friday, though it may be extended if necessary. In northern Manitoba, two wildfires near Thompson have merged amid widespread smoke, according to a post on the city’s Facebook page Tuesday. The merged wildfire now known as Fire NO050 is over 46,000 hectares in size, per the province’s latest fire map. The city said additional bulldozer guards are being constructed between the fire and Highway 391 to strengthen containment. The highway traversing the city is closed except for essential service vehicles and evacuees leaving Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, which issued an evacuation notice Sunday. A separate fire located approximately 14 kilometres from the city, Fire NO061, experienced movement in the north and “a lot of activity in the southern portion” on Monday, according to the city. “The Manitoba Wildfire Service was unable to do much work on Fire NO061 on Monday due to aircraft transporting Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation evacuees from the Thompson Airport, which resulted in restrictions on other aircraft movements,” said the city. Water bombers are scooping water from Footprint Lake to combat the flames, which may also include a planned backburn in an area between Mystery Lake and the Burntwood River, according to the city. Two fires near Snow Lake have also merged, according to the province’s Tuesday fire bulletin. The fire is now approximately 57,800 hectares and out of control. A notice on Snow Lake’s website Tuesday indicates a cool Monday allowed crews to make further progress, focusing on strengthening containment lines and cleaning up fire extensions to the north and south of the town. “Last night, a tactical backburn was conducted on fire 89, aimed at reinforcing protection to the west and north. The operation had a very good effect with no issues reported,” said the town. “Aerial resources continue to be utilized across the remaining fires where possible and where resource availability allows.” The Manitoba Wildfire Service continues to respond to 165 active wildfires across the province, with a total of 401 wildfires to date. The average for this date is 299 total fires, according to the province.
