Pukatawagan loses power, shuts down airport as northern Manitoba wildfires grow
A Manitoba First Nation has declared a state of emergency and another has closed its airport mid-evacuation as wildfires continue to ravage communities in the province's north.
Thousands of residents were stranded in Pukatawagan, also known as Mathias Colomb, after the nearby fire shut down its airport at around 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday, the First Nation's chief said.
The airport closed as winds pushed smoke westward toward the airfield, Chief Gordie Bear said in a phone call with CBC News Thursday.
Bear said about 2,000 people remain in Pukatawagan, which is about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. It's among the northern Manitoba communities under an evacuation order since Wednesday, when the Manitoba government declared a provincewide state of emergency because of wildfires across the region.
"I hear … there's choppers now, that smoke has engulfed the airport," Bear said. He was on his way to The Pas from Winnipeg to meet evacuees who recently arrived there.
"We're getting desperate now. It's getting rougher. We're going to be heading for the lake … shortly if nothing turns out, if nothing puts the flame out."
The fire near the community was about 9,800 hectares in size and was out of control as of Manitoba's latest update Thursday afternoon. The province's wildfire map showed the blaze just over a kilometre away from the airport as of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, more than 300 kilometres east of Pukatawagan, said in a Facebook post at 6:20 p.m. CT it was declaring a state of emergency with a fire only one kilometre away from the community, after it lost power just before 5:30 p.m.
The First Nation said in a Facebook post that power restoration may take a couple of days. Evacuation orders have been issued for children under the age of one, elders and health patients, the post said.
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