Thousands set to return home after fires force Flin Flon, Man., residents out

An empty Main Street in Flin Flon, Man., is shown during a tour of wildfires in northern Manitoba, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Thousands from the northern Manitoba city are expected to return home today after a menacing wildfire forced them out nearly a month ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Deal-Pool

FLIN FLON — Thousands of residents from the northern Manitoba city of Flin Flon are expected to return home today after a menacing wildfire forced them to flee nearly a month ago.

The out-of-control wildfire is still burning, but officials say crews have been able to contain it to outside the community that sits on the Saskatchewan boundary.

Officials add disaster and recovery assistance will be available on site for returning residents, as will a food bank handing out perishable and non-perishable items.

About 5,000 Flin Flon residents, as well as roughly 1,000 from the city’s surrounding area, were displaced across Manitoba due to nearby blazes.

Mayor George Fontaine says the city hasn’t lost homes or businesses to fire, but residents are to start cleaning up things like spoiled food in fridges and freezers as they return.

Fontaine says residents have been told to have an emergency bag packed in case the fire re-enters the community.

“The odds of it are not high right now, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” Fontaine said in an interview.

At one point, upwards of 21,000 people across Manitoba were forced out in what is believed to be the largest exodus the province has seen in recent years.

Many communities have been allowed to return home in recent weeks. Some, such as the Tataskweyak and Mathias Colomb Cree nations, remain evacuated.

The Bakers Narrows Provincial Park is set to reopen Wednesday morning for permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators. The campground will remain closed for nightly and seasonal campers until at least July 17.

Elsewhere, campgrounds in Nopiming Provincial Park, in eastern Manitoba, have been given tentative reopening dates after some areas were issued mandatory evacuation orders last month.

The Bird Lake campground will remain closed until at least July 10, while the campground at Tulabi Falls requires extensive cleanup. It is expected to remain closed until at least Aug. 4.

Fontaine said the evacuation process has been different for each community member. Some have had the option of staying with friends or family, but others have been shuffled around to different evacuation shelters and hotels.

Many are feeling a sense of relief about returning home, he said.

“They’re ready to see their own beds again,” said Fontaine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

By Brittany Hobson in Winnipeg