Fires force Manitoba to prep for evacuees, bring alert to jewel Saskatchewan park

National Observer

14-07-2025

Manitoba prepared Monday to find shelter for thousands more potential wildfire evacuees while, in neighbouring Saskatchewan, out-of-control blazes shut down close to half of Prince Albert National Park, the province's crown jewel summer destination.
Manitoba officials said Monday about 1,300 fire refugees are staying at two congregate shelters in Winnipeg.
Other shelters were set to open to provide space if necessary for 7,000 more. That includes 4,000 cot spaces at the city's cavernous downtown RBC Convention Centre.
'We do have additional sites that have been stood up and are on standby should they be required,' Christine Stevens, with the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, told reporters Monday.
'Because hotel space is very limited in Manitoba, we are asking people to stay with family and friends first if they do have somewhere safe to stay,' she added. 'That said, we do want folks to know if they do need somewhere safe to stay, we do have congregate spaces available to support them.'
The spaces were being made ready as thousands of potential refugees were nervously eyeing nearby wildfires at St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack First Nations, about 480 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Priority residents in those two First Nations, such as those with medical issues, were being sent out Monday. Also in the area sits the Garden Hill First Nation. It's a fly-in community and the 3,000-plus residents began being airlifted out last week by military and commercial aircraft.
Manitoba is battling 122 active fires in what is considered one of the worst fire seasons in years. In Saskatchewan, meanwhile, fires have forced out about 1,000 residents across a number of communities.
Fires are also threatening the 13,000 residents of the city of Thompson. They have been told to be ready to move quickly if necessary.
Rain and hard work have allowed all fires to be kept at bay for the most part, officials said.
"We're quite confident in the protections that we've put in place between the fire and the City of Thompson. Of course, there's always an unknown, the weather can create different situations," said Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister with the provincial wildfire program.
More than 6,000 people are out of their homes in Manitoba in this summer's second wave of evacuations. The first wave peaked in May and June, with 22,000 people out at one point, before the fires receded, then flared up again. The communities of Lynn Lake and Snow Lake ordered residents to flee for the second time in just weeks.
A group of 28 American and Dutch canoeists, planning a trip down the Churchill River in northern Manitoba, were told to turn back on the weekend due to the fire danger, RCMP said.
"They were very understanding and arrangements are being made by their organizers in Minnesota to arrange for a bus to come and collect them," Manitoba RCMP said in a written statement.
"They were self-sufficient with food and water and were loaned a small BBQ by the detachment to allow them to cook without an open flame."
The fires have put the squeeze on Manitoba's 15,000 hotel rooms. Last week, Premier Wab Kinew reissued the provincewide state of emergency, giving the province powers to create congregate shelters.
Manitoba is battling 122 active fires in what is considered one of the worst fire seasons in years. The fires have also triggered smoke warnings and advisories through much of Manitoba and into Saskatchewan.
In Saskatchewan, the fires have forced out about 1,000 residents across a number of communities.
They also prompted Parks Canada to close the northern half of the sprawling Prince Albert National Park on Sunday night and urge those remaining to either leave or be ready to go at a moment's notice. The agency has said the fire is raging 40 kilometres from the Waskesiu townsite.
'Over the recent days, hot, dry and windy conditions resulted in significant fire growth and as of yesterday the fire has spread into the north and northeastern areas of the park,' Carla Flaman, the external relations manager for Parks Canada, wrote in an email to residents Sunday.
'Fire conditions are currently extreme, meaning conditions are favourable for continued fire growth.'
Tyler Baker, the general manager of the Waskesiu Golf Course, located inside the park, said patrons were teeing up Monday with clear skies but were prepared to leave.
"There's been a few people that have left,' Baker said in an interview. 'We're anxious but we're calm. We don't want to lose our community because it's a tourist area and it's a short season. But should the situation arise where we do have to evacuate, we're well prepared and we're confident.'
The 3,900-square-kilometre national park was created almost a century ago, in 1927.
Visitors flock to it each summer to hike, camp, golf, swim, boat, fish and watch wildlife. The park is home to more than 200 bird species and has one of Canada's few remaining populations of free-range bison.
North of the townsite in the backcountry sits Grey Owl's Cabin, a recognized federal heritage building. Archibald Belaney, commonly known as Grey Owl, lived at the cabin with his wife where he took care of orphaned beavers and wrote about the importance of conservation.
—With files from Jeremy Simes in Regina