'We take care of each other': Pimicikamak residents pitch in as road opens for wildfire evacuees

Yahoo

3 days ago

The intersection of Highway 6 and PR 373 is about a six-hour drive from Winnipeg, on a section of the major road that runs parallel to the Hudson Bay Railway in Manitoba's north.
A sign advising travellers the provincial road was closed could be seen on one side of the rail tracks crossing it Friday afternoon. On the other, a white pickup truck greeted vehicles with its own sign: "Food and water for evacuees."
"The road is open and we figured the people would be hungry, stressed out," said Darryl McIvor. He and his family were handing out sandwiches and chips to people coming out of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake.
"It's our people and we have to look after each other."
Around 1,000 Pimicikamak residents were still in the northern Manitoba First Nation as of Friday morning, three days after the community was ordered to evacuate because of a nearby wildfire.
PR 373 — the only road connecting Pimicikamak and nearby Norway House to the rest of Manitoba — was temporarily opened to drivers exiting those communities later that day.
Brenda Monias was on her way from Pimicikamak to Thompson, where her daughter lives.
The drive "was smoky," Monias said. "There's still some hot spots. Still a bit of fire here and there on the side of the road."
The blaze near Pimicikamak was about 3,290 hectares and out of control as of the province's latest fire bulletin Friday afternoon.
More than 6,000 residents were told to head to Norway House even though that community was only expecting 1,000 evacuees
'Very chaotic'
Pimicikamak Chief David Monias told CBC News Friday afternoon 3,332 people had been waiting in Norway House to be flown out that morning.
"We had about 11 to 12 Hercules planes that were picking up the people," Monias said, though he added he was still waiting for information from the Canadian Armed Forces as to how many residents were flown out.
"We have a co-ordinator there and she doesn't even have time to talk to us because it's very chaotic, because they're trying to get everybody out."
Monias had told CBC that morning residents decided to return to the community in spite of the evacuation order out of frustration, amid long waits for ferries and unavailable airlifts.
PR 373 was open to evacuees until 8 p.m. Those leaving from Norway House had to be across the ferry that crosses the Nelson River at the community's entrance by service cutoff at 7 p.m.
Thelma Muskego was at the junction with Highway 6 to pick up her son, who was coming down the road from Norway House with Muskego's brother.
She said she'd been stranded in Thompson since Sunday, after Pimicikamak began moving elderly and other vulnerable residents out of the community because of the heavy smoke.
"My son didn't want to leave … because we had another fire two years ago and he's kind of like traumatized and scared to go through that again, to drive through," she said. "We had to assure him that was OK."
Hanson Richard was heading for Winnipeg.
"That's the instruction from our incident team," he said. "Thompson is full. There's evacuations all over, right? Lynn Lake. Now I hear Split Lake."
'One way in, one way out'
Premier Wab Kinew said in a news conference Friday the government expected to reach about 17,000 wildfire evacuees in total later that day.
"I'm just glad that everybody is doing a great job for us," Richard said. "Our incident team back home. Firefighters, of course, doing an awesome job … and a special shout-out to Norway House."
Richard said when something like the wildfire happens, they're all "one big family."
"We take care of each other," he said. "We only have one highway to share. Only one way in, one way out."
Darryl McIvor said he figured he'd come to the junction to see people, including family, as they travelled by while also helping out.
McIvor said he may be back out there another time to lend other evacuees a hand — even after they're given the go-ahead to return home.
"It'll be a relief to come back but, you know, people still get stressed out when they leave home," he said.
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email [e-mail].