Manitoba wildfire evacuees returning home thankful for rain

CBC

17-05-2025

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Some residents of the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet who have been able to return home are thankful they're getting some rain, even as officials warn they'll need more than that for wildfire conditions in the province to really improve.
The evacuation order for permanent residents living in an area south of Wendigo Road in the eastern Manitoba municipality was lifted Wednesday evening, according to the RM of Lac du Bonnet website.
Re-entry was authorized for the Wendigo Road subdivisions and residences from Provincial Road 313 to Newcombe Road at 8 p.m. that night. The rural municipality said as many as 50 families could now be able to come back home.
Cathie Austen was staying at a friend's cottage when she heard residents in the area would be allowed back in. By 8 p.m., she was already lined up and ready to return home.
"We were like, 'Yay!'" she said. "[Doing] the old happy dance."
Environment Canada is reporting some areas of southern Manitoba received up to 70 millimetres of rain over the last 48 hours, though southeastern regions, including Lac du Bonnet, got less than 10 millimetres of rain as of Friday morning.
But more rain is on the way — along with a temperature drop — with the agency forecasting a period of rain mixed with snow after midnight Friday in the area, and risk of freezing rain overnight.
Conditions improving in Bird River
Jack Brisco, mayor of the RM of Alexander — which is dealing with the largest of the wildfires currently active in the province, in the Nopiming area — said conditions have improved because of the cooler and wet weather, though it also caused some problems Friday morning.
"Bombers from Manitoba, I know they had problems in Gimli because they're getting so much rain," he said. "We've had assistance from bombers from Ontario, so all of them are pitching in and doing their best to look after this fire."
That fire, located about one kilometre from Bird River, was about 100,000 hectares, according to the province's latest fire bulletin, issued Friday afternoon.
About 100 firefighters are currently defensively battling the flames around Bird River, Brisco said in an interview with Radio Noon.
Close to 400 residences in the rural municipality have been issued evacuation orders, with Brisco estimating up to 1,000 people may have been forced out of their homes or cottages.
The mayor said he's hoping for a good downpour of rain to help put out the fire.
"The wind is blowing from the north now … so it's going in a little bit of a new direction," he said. "The conditions are better, but the wind isn't really helping out right now."
The Lac du Bonnet area fire remained at around 4,000 hectares as of the latest fire bulletin. Travel is still restricted in several areas still under evacuation order.
"The rain is helping, but obviously [there's still] tinder-dry conditions, there's tree stumps and trees that are still on fire, burning on the inside," RM of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel said, adding that it may take two or three days before any evacuation orders are changed, even with perfect weather.
"We are worried about lives and property," Schinkel said. "We know that the fire in that area flared up again last night and Wildfire Services says we're not letting anything go until we're sure it's all put out and secure for the residents to return."
He's urging residents to be patient while officials wait on conditions to improve before lifting further evacuation orders.
"You would think a little bit of moisture, you know, would help extinguish it — and it [does]. But we need this soaking rain for a few days to really get control of it," he said.
The wildfire in the rural municipality killed two people and has destroyed at least 28 buildings.
Ronald Runzer came back Friday to find his house was still standing, but his workshop and storage sheds were "burned into the ground."