Wildfire enters Leaf Rapids, burning several structures

Smoky skies in Leaf Rapids on July 23, 2025. (Manitoba Government)

A serious wildfire threatening Leaf Rapids has jumped the Churchill River, entering the now-evacuated town and damaging several structures.

On Wednesday evening, the town posted on social media that a wildfire entered the northwestern Manitoba town through its industrial area.

“Despite attempts at controlling the fire with aerial resources, including heavy helicopters and waterbombers, the fire has jumped the Churchill River and has resulted in some damage to structures in Leaf Rapids,” said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister with the Manitoba Wildfire Service.

“Initial assessment shows five to seven structures have been impacted by the fire.”

The province said only one of the structures was a residence, while the rest were abandoned buildings.

Hayward noted that firefighters in the community had to retreat to a safe location due to the intense flames, but were able to return in approximately one hour.

“They worked through the night to patrol for hotspots, address spot fires, and they continue to do that today,” she said, adding they will stay in the community as long as they’re needed.

Hayward said strong winds are expected to make Thursday a difficult day for battling wildfires, but some precipitation is in the forecast for Friday.

“Hopefully that materializes, as that should really help to stabilize that situation,” she said.

There are 124 active wildfires burning in Manitoba.

On Thursday morning, the town said the owner of a damaged home on Utik Crescent is being contacted directly. It noted the fire mainly burned forested areas in the north part of the town, with the south seeing little impact. Leaf Rapids noted that some hydro poles are burned, which could lead to outages.

-with files from CTV’s Taylor Brock and Kayla Rosen