Rain welcomed as crews continue to fight northern wildfires
Rain overnight and into Sunday offered a bit of hope to areas of northern Manitoba that wildfires have scorched in recent weeks.
Sherridon Deputy Mayor Sheryl Matheson told the Free Press on Sunday morning rain was falling in the town, which is about 900 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
'They are hoping it helps,' she said, adding that extra wildfire crews fighting the nearby blaze are keeping things stable in the town of about 60 people, all of whom have been evacuated to Dauphin.
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Wildfire west of the northern community of Sherridon on May 26. As of Sunday, rain was finally falling in the community.
Firefighters in Flin Flon, which was also receiving some light rain on Sunday, and Sherridon have been holding back flames for more than a week. The merged fire covered more than 307,000 hectares as of Saturday.
Lori Forbes, the rural municipality of Kelsey's emergency co-ordinator, said The Pas had also received some rain on Sunday morning, and she was hearing reports there was some in Cranberry Portage, which is under a mandatory evacuation order.
'We will take what we can get,' she said.
An update from Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake) on Sunday stated the wildfire in the area, which is nearly 60,000 hectares in size, remains a significant concern, although current weather conditions, which included rain on Sunday, have slowed its growth.
Incident Commander Caleb Finch reported three to four millimetres of rainfall, standing water on roads and lower cloud ceilings contributing to cooler temperatures and higher humidity, all of which are reducing fire activity for the time being.
An update from Pimicikamak said aerial firing operations are being considered to help control the fire, but are on hold at the moment until conditions become hotter and drier.
'The fire continues to threaten both road access and the local power supply, maintaining a high-risk situation for the community,' the update said.
Crews were working on high-priority areas, including securing perimeters near Highway 373 and 374, protecting critical infrastructure, such as power lines and poles, and containing the spread on surrounding islands and heavily timbered areas.
More than 18,000 people have been evacuated in Manitoba, including 7,500 in Pimicikamak and 5,000 in Flin Flon.
The desperately needed rain will continue this week in Manitoba, but sustained showers aren't in the forecast.
'What we need to quell the fires up north are several days' worth of sustained rainfall, of course. We don't see that coming up in the near future, unfortunately,' said Eric Dykes, a Winnipeg-based meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
As of late Sunday morning, many areas of northern Manitoba had received 10 to 15 millimetres of rain in the past 24 hours. Sherridon got 13.5 mm, while William River west of Norway House saw 14.7 mm.
Most of this weekend's rain hit southern parts of the province, kicking up some 'dust devil' clouds in the Morden-Winkler area and producing pea-sized hail around Niverville.
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The provincial high 24-hour rainfall accumulation was north of Fisher Branch, with 29.2 mm.
Scattered, light showers are expected to continue throughout northern Manitoba this week, particularly Tuesday through Thursday, with Friday expected to be dry. The wildfire areas need much more rain than is forecast.
'That being said, this rain will help,' Dykes said.
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
With files from Katie May
Scott BilleckReporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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