Wildfire evacuees anxious as RM of Piney says return home will take time

CBC

19-05-2025

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People in southern Manitoba who were forced out of their town because of an out-of-control wildfire may have to wait a while to return home, officials say.
Manitoba Wildfire Services were set to meet their goal of 70 per cent containment of the nearly 9,000-hectare fire Monday — but an evacuation order remains in effect, the RM of Piney said in a social media post this weekend.
Woodridge, about 85 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, was among the towns in the rural municipality issued with the order as the fire turned out of control early last week.
Wayne Anderson, reeve of the RM of Piney, said Monday around 300 people were evacuated in Woodridge.
"Everybody's getting anxious and wanting to lift [the evacuation] and they're wanting to come home," he said. "There are a few people that refuse to leave. And of course, we can't force them."
The reeve said the rural municipality received 15 millimetres of rain at the end of the week, which helped firefighting efforts. But Anderson said lifting the evacuation order may still take a few days.
"It takes time, but … we got a very dry forest and high winds," Anderson said.
"This cold weather is helping, but until the fire is fully contained we don't feel comfortable … telling them to come back. And then if a spark jumps the 100-foot barrier or something, then we're all going to have to evacuate again."
Woodridge resident Mason Hildebrand has been staying in Steinbach. He said most evacuees he's with are "already sick" of being stuck at a hotel, and want to go back home.
"It's a little bit discouraging not being able to be in town in our own homes," he said. "But at the same time at least we're all safe."
The RM of Piney said in a social media update Monday afternoon the winds are currently not working on their favour.
Donald Hrynyk said his home is safe, but the fire was closing in on it only a few days ago.
"This wind is turning the fire around, so we have to wait and see," he said.
Lac du Bonnet fire no longer out of control
There are currently 13 active wildfires in Manitoba, and there have been 81 fires so far this year. The average for this time in the province is 61.
The 4,000-hectare fire which killed two people in the RM of Lac du Bonnet is no longer ruled to be out of control. About 150 people displaced by that fire were allowed to return home Sunday.
Three fires remain out of control as of Monday: The Piney fire, a fire in Ingolf, Ont., that's spread into Manitoba, and the fire at Nopiming Provincial Park, which is the largest.
The province said Monday the Nopiming fire was 101,000 hectares in size and about a kilometre away from Bird River. It said 20 properties around Beresford Lake — which is north of the fire — have been damaged.
B.C. firefighters redeployed from The Pas to Nopiming
In northern Manitoba, officials are still monitoring a wildfire that was first detected on May 3 and has since grown to more than 42,000 hectares.
That fire was no longer out of control as of Thursday. B.C. Wildfire Service says 21 out of the 42 crews sent out to The Pas to help fight the fires have been redeployed in Nopiming, but the rest still remain in northern Manitoba.
At least 290 residents were forced out of their homes in RM of Kelsey because of the fire, with crews counting more than 90 evacuees from the Clearwater Lake Provincial Park area. They began returning home last week.
Lori Forbes, emergency services coordinator for the rural municipality, said the fire destroyed three home as well as some livestock.
Manitoba Wildfire Services "are doing aerial with helicopters, they do infrared checking for hotspots just to ensure everything is out and cool. So those have been happening in the early mornings," Forbes said.