Lynn Lake residents to return home as wildfire threat fades, health services start to be restored
The town said in a Facebook post Thursday night that residents can return home as of Friday at 8 a.m.
Buses are being arranged for those who need assistance, and town officials will be in contact with those individuals, according to the Facebook post.
Officials are telling residents, however, they must be ready to evacuate with little notice if fire conditions worsen.
Lynn Lake Mayor Brandon Dulewich said the pending return to their town brings an "overwhelming feeling of joy" for him, as well as the evacuees who spent a few weeks sleeping on cots in a makeshift shelter in Thompson, more than 200 kilometres away.
"They've been out of the community for I think 24 days now, but we've been trying to bring you home forever."
Delays in reopening ER
Dulewich said the evacuation order would have been rescinded earlier if health-care services in the town of roughly 600 people could have been restored faster. The emergency department opened again on Thursday, the mayor said.
The fire near Lynn Lake is over 71,000 hectares and remains out of control, according to a provincial wildfire bulletin issued on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Conservation Officer Service and the Manitoba Wildfire Service, said the north half of the blaze is actively burning but the south part, closer to the community, is looking better.
The town said on Facebook that "hot spots" from the wildfire remain close to the community.
"There is a continued risk of smoke and falling ash, especially during periods of increased wind and heat."
Dulewich commended the people of Thompson for voluntarily looking after his community, which is just over 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
He's disappointed that Lynn Lake residents had to endure weeks in a shelter, sleeping on cots, while evacuees from other areas were flown to Winnipeg and stayed in hotel rooms.
He wants a fairer system to be developed.
"I've gone blue in the face, yelling at different agencies, trying to get the basic humane living conditions for the citizens of Lynn Lake," Dulewich said.
"It's unbelievable that they had to have to stay in the makeshift shelter for this long."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
‘It's all gone': This woman lost her home and her prosthetic leg in the fire, and doesn't know what to do next
Elsa Fitzgerald couldn't hold back the tears as she described how overwhelmed she felt upon learning her Western Bay home was gone. She said when she and her husband fled, they didn't think they'd be gone for more than a couple of days. The CBC's Ryan Cooke has their story.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Are Canadian summers as we knew them over?
Social Sharing This summer is on track to being the second-worst wildfire season in Canadian history. It started earlier than usual with emergencies declared in the spring in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and is hitting locales that aren't typically fire-prone like Vancouver Island and the Maritimes. Meanwhile, fires from neighbouring provinces gave parts of southern Ontario some of the worst air quality in the world. So what does this mean for the Canadian summers of our childhood, spent mostly carefree and outdoors? What needs to be done for us to adapt to the prospect of more fires and heat to come — especially for kids growing up in this new reality? Denise Balkisson, executive editor of The Narwhal, joins us to talk about how to navigate the ambient dread of our country's changing climate.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
‘It's been very trying': Manitoba hit with extreme drought conditions
Manitoba farmers are grappling with some of the most widespread drought in recent history. CTV's Jeff Keele reports. Manitoba farmers are grappling with some of the most widespread drought in recent history. CTV's Jeff Keele reports. A drought this summer has triggered states of emergency in several municipalities—and farmers are feeling the impact. In East Selkirk, the corn stalks in Doug Martin's field are a lot shorter than usual. 'Normally this time of year, you know, it would be six to seven feet high,' said Martin. He said this year's dry conditions are impacting his crops, which also includes wheat and soybeans. 'It's been very trying,' said Martin. 'Since we seeded, the crop came up great, but you know it just never rained.' It's a similar story for wheat and canola farmer Thorsten Stanze in the RM of Morris. 'Farming is a poker game, so this year the cards are a little against us,' said Stanze. 'The yields are not great; they're a little under par, but not great.' David Lee from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said 70 per cent of the country is experiencing abnormally dry or drought conditions, with Manitoba seeing the worst of it. 'Unfortunately, Manitoba has gotten worse from a drought perspective,' said Lee. A drought monitor map showing conditions in Manitoba illustrates just how dry things are. Much of the province is covered by a dark brown colour, indicating severe drought, which is a one-in-ten-year event. There are multiple red spots in the province illustrating extreme drought, a one-in-20-year event. Lee said Manitoba received only 40 per cent of normal precipitation amounts in July. He says this is somewhat unprecedented. 'It's rare that we've seen drought this widespread,' said Lee. 'Our closest comparison would be 2023.' But, with recent rain, Martin said there's still time between now and harvest for improvements. 'You can see here the corn is still green and still filling,' he said. 'So, there's potential there for this rain to help, and the same with soybeans.'
