Snow Lake prepares as widlfire grows closer

Winnipeg Free Press

2 days ago

Firefighters watered down sections of Snow Lake on Friday to protect the northern Manitoba town from an out-of-control blaze that was about two kilometres away around midday.
Mayor Ron Scott, who is among Snow Lake's evacuees, said the wind direction was expected to shift to the northwest in the afternoon and push the fire closer to the community.
'It's definitely going to be a major concern in the next 12 to 24 hours,' he told the Free Press by phone from The Pas at about 1 p.m. 'Everyone is trying to prep the town as much as possible.'
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A photo of the wildfire was posted to the Town of Snow Lake's Facebook page on Friday.
Water bombers and bucket-equipped helicopters were attacking the fire. Sprinklers were set up to protect buildings in town.
'Keep the faith,' Scott said to about 1,000 residents who were forced to flee their homes July 10 for the second time this wildfire season. 'We've got an awesome team up there. We'll cross our fingers and hope for the best.'
Snow Lake is about 690 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. The 22,790-hectare fire, caused by lightning, was detected July 1.
Scott said the blaze, located west of Snow Lake, became very intense as it moved closer to town Thursday, despite the efforts of fire crews.
'With the winds, they had a major outbreak that crossed the lake proper, so it expanded quite a bit to the north and the east,' he said.
The fire moved along a hydro corridor, resulting in a loss of power to the Lalor Mine site, the town said in a Facebook post.
Power was restored in town, while the mine used a diesel-powered backup as of Friday morning, the post said.
The town said fire crews were inspecting and watering down areas to prevent embers and hot spots from hitting the community.
Rain and thunderstorms were possible.
Scott said firefighters from municipal departments across Manitoba joined the effort.
On Thursday, Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Manitoba Wildfire Service, said Snow Lake was 'ready to be defended' if the fire moved closer to the town.
Sprinklers and a quick response by fire crews helped limit damage at the Lalor Mine site, she said.
The Town of Snow Lake said crews 'did a great job' to protect the mine for most of Thursday.
A separate wildfire, also sparked by lightning, damaged one home and about half a dozen vacant houses in Leaf Rapids Wednesday night, when it became very intense Wednesday night. Fire crews had to temporarily retreat to safety.
The community had no power or satellite internet service as of Friday morning, the Town of Leaf Rapids said in a social-media post.
'Starlink is currently not operating. This makes it very difficult to obtain information,' the post said.
More than 300 residents of Leaf Rapids, about 975 km northwest of Winnipeg, were forced to leave July 8, while several fires burned in the area.
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The wildfire service's online map displayed 121 active wildfires Friday afternoon, including 22 that were out of control.
All of Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba opened to permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators as of Friday, even though a wildfire continues to smoulder in the region.
While Bird Lake campground is open, all other campgrounds will remain closed for the rest of the season, the province said.
Backcountry campsites at Shoe Lake, and all water routes and hiking trails remain closed.
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Chris KitchingReporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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