Wildfires force thousands to flee homes in Western Canada

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

Wildfires across Western Canada have forced thousands of people from their homes, as dry, warm and windy temperatures intensified new flares Friday, causing Manitoba to ask for international help.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan are under provincewide states of emergency for the next month, while evacuations have also been ordered in large parts of Alberta and British Columbia.
There were more than 180 active wildfires across the country Friday evening, with 23 of those being new and at least 102 considered out of control. The situation this week has been so severe that Manitoba was forced to call upon the Canadian Armed Forces to rescue residents from several communities.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on Friday requested more equipment and personnel from international jurisdictions, including helicopters from the United States and Colombia. The province has already been receiving firefighters from New Brunswick, Alberta, B.C. and Prince Edward Island.
'We are doing everything that we can to preserve life,' Mr. Kinew told reporters in Winnipeg, where the vast majority of more than 17,000 evacuees are being housed in arenas and soccer fields converted into shelters.
'As we head into the weekend, please pray for rain. We haven't seen rain in the forecast yet.'
Two more areas in Manitoba – around Bakers Narrows in the north and Bissett in the east – were ordered to evacuate Friday. Also in the northern region, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Cross Lake, Norway House and Mathias Colomb First Nation in Pukatawagan are also vacating their properties this week.
Mr. Kinew said final evacuations in Flin Flon, Man., where roughly 5,000 people live, occurred Friday, with mostly firefighters left behind. That blaze began Monday just across the provincial border in the Saskatchewan town of Creighton.
Keith Selma left all of his belongings behind in Flin Flon, save for some books, juice, the clothes he wore and a few extra shirts.
'You just have no idea how exhausting this is,' he said by phone Friday from his uncle's home in Portage la Prairie near Winnipeg, where he'd flown with his cat and dog.
'I would never wish this kind of stress on anyone. All I can think about, dream about really, is that orange-red sky.'
Jackie Castel was among more than 2,300 people from Mathias Colomb who fled her home. After flying roughly 700 kilometres to Winnipeg on a military plane with her daughter and son, she breathed a sigh of relief Friday afternoon outside a Best Western hotel.
'My body is trying to getting used to the air here, so much better than back home,' she said, where the smoke became so thick 'you could taste it in your mouth.'
Ms. Castel was able to leave, but Mathias Colomb Chief Gordie Bear said many others in the remote community are still stranded.
'The helicopters are too slow and too small,' he said. 'Every hour we wait puts lives at risk. We need more help, especially from the military.'
There are 25 active wildfires in Manitoba, with 106 in total this year. Before this week, the 20-year average for the region was 78 annual fires.
In Saskatchewan, 15 fires burned Friday, seven of which were uncontained. The province has recorded 207 wildfires this year – well over its five-year annual average of 125.
Premier Scott Moe has ordered evacuations for the communities around Pelican Narrows, Hall Lake, Brabant Lake, Canoe Lake, Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, Little Bear Lake, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Whiteswan Bay. Other areas have also been told to be ready to flee at a moment's notice this weekend.
In Prince Albert, Sask., Weldon McCallum recalls consoling his young daughter as flames nearly destroyed his home in the city's north end.
'It's pretty hard to contain myself from crying with her, but I keep telling my daughter and my family not to lose hope.'
Mr. McCallum, who is helping co-ordinate Saskatchewan's evacuation efforts for Peter Ballantyne, is pleading for more help.
'We need support in terms of fire protection,' he said. 'I'm really praying that we can get more.'
Alexandria Jones at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said wildfires have been moving faster and spreading quicker this year.
'They're just more severe all around,' she said.
The leading cause of wildfires is human activity, she added.
B.C. firefighters told investigators they feared deaths were 'inevitable' during 2023 wildfire season
In B.C., 60 wildfires were burning Friday, with more than half out of control – mostly in the northeast. One fire in the Peace River Regional District quadrupled in size within a single day, as rural communities in the region bordering Alberta evacuated.
Air-quality alerts warning about smoke were issued in most of Alberta. The province was contending with at least 50 active fires Friday, including 29 deemed out of control. Evacuations are taking place near Chipewyan Lake, Red Earth Creek, Loon Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake.
Non-essential workers at the Christina Lake facility, about 150 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, have also been told to leave the oil-production site by MEG Energy.