Military says over 1,000 people flown from fire-threatened Manitoba community
The Canadian Armed Forces says it's evacuated over a thousand residents of a northern Manitoba community threatened by a wildfire, while towns and villages in the province are welcoming cooler weather they say is helping firefighters.
The military began removing people from Garden Hill First Nation on CC-130 Hercules transport airplanes on Friday, and it says that as of Sunday afternoon, over 1,550 have been flown to Winnipeg.
Capt. Wyatt Shorter with Joint Operations Command says there are no more people waiting to leave Garden Hill, but a Hercules is on standby in Winnipeg in case anyone else needs a flight out.
The community is about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg and is not accessible by road.
Manitoba declared its second provincewide state of emergency of the year last week as wildfires continue to rage.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says in a social media post that the federal government is working with First Nations and other orders of government to fight the fires, and stands ready to supply additional support.
'Wildfires have been worsening, especially across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. On behalf of Canadians, my ongoing gratitude to all the first responders on the front lines of this crisis,' Carney wrote.
But communities like the City of Thompson, where residents are told to be ready to evacuate if conditions deteriorate, posted on social media on Sunday that light winds, low temperatures, rain and higher humidity are giving firefighting crews time to bolster defences.
The community's fire update on Sunday included an aerial photo of a nearby snowmobile shelter and outhouse, which the update said survived a low intensity burn that swept through the area earlier in the week.
The update said Monday's forecast was expected to be cool, and Environment Canada's forecast says to expect a temperature of 16 C.
Thompson is set to welcome 20 firefighters from Mexico to help fight nearby wildfires, and the city says an incident management team from Australia is arriving on Wednesday.
The Manitoba government said Friday over 12,000 people were out of their homes, and it gave notice that it intended to use Winnipeg's major convention centre to house more evacuees.
The Canadian Red Cross said in a statement Sunday that it is co-ordinating logistics for congregate shelters in Winnipeg.
Canada's emergency management minister said in a statement Sunday that over the weekend she approved an additional request for federal assistance from the provincial government.
Eleanor Olszewski noted the most recent assistance would be put toward humanitarian workforce support for emergency evacuation and sheltering activities.
'I am in regular contact with my counterpart in Manitoba. Our government will act fast if more help is needed,' Olszewski said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2025.
The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Thousands evacuating Northern Manitoba
Watch Northern Manitoba residents continue to flee and find shelter as wildfires forced several communities out of their homes.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Chow says city staff ‘failed' in handling of record Toronto snowstorm
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow addresses a report on 'systemic failure' in city's snow-clearing operation, and ignoring of residents' needs. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says city staff 'failed in their job' during this year's record-breaking snowstorm, pointing to broken plows, ignored 311 calls, and misleading public updates as neighbourhoods remained buried in snow for weeks. Chow's made the comment to reporters ahead of an executive committee meeting where an Auditor General review of the city's response to back-to-back-to-back February storms as well as another conducted by city staff was scheduled to be discussed. The reviews found that while the city's snow clearing works during routine weather, its procedures 'face systemic gaps' during major storms — issues Chow says have been 'ignored' and reflect a 'failed culture.' 'The sole response to the snowstorm… failed my expectations,' Chow said. 'The city staff in charge with managing the snow clearance failed in their job. They had no idea what was happening out in the field.' 'They ignored 99.83 per cent' of calls In the first half of February, Toronto saw more than 94 centimetres of snow, which marked about 30 per cent more snow than the city would normally get during that time. The series of storms, which alone dumped more than 50 centimetres of snow on the city over the span of just days, prompted a council-ordered review after widespread complaints about unplowed sidewalks and inaccessible roads. cars, Toronto, snow Cars are buried in Toronto's east end after two snowstorms last week. (Brian Weather/ CTV News) The review found staff had claimed to fully implement 19 recommendations around snow clearing ahead of February's snowfall — when in reality, only eight were completed. In addition, the auditor general's findings also revealed public updates during the storm didn't reflect real-time conditions, while 311 and PlowTO communications proved unreliable. On Wednesday, Chow said that of the 29,000 snow-related 311 calls logged during the storm, staff responded to just 51. 'Worst of all, the staff team received 29,000 calls for help… and they ignored 99.83 per cent of them,' Chow said. Equipment issues also plagued operations, with city contractors using incorrect machinery that broke down mid-storm, Chow said. 'The snow plows broke down when we needed them most because the staff allowed privately contracted companies to use the wrong machines, despite the contract specifying which machines to use,' Chow said. 'We must fix this failed culture' A second independent review, ordered by City Manager Paul Johnson and released last week, found Toronto's winter maintenance program generally works but faces 'systemic gaps' that limit efforts during major snow events. Toronto snowstorm People walk through a snow-covered street following a heavy snowfall in Toronto, on Thursday, February 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press) Chow said both reports exposed 'errors that were not fixed over the years, despite four previous investigations into the city's snow removal processes.' She described inspection logs as incomplete, missing signatures, or skipped entirely, and criticized Toronto for failing to adopt more reliable equipment like Montreal and Calgary's more specialized plows. 'I will accept (the city manager's) recommendations as the first step to address this systemic failure,' she said. 'We must fix this failed culture of ignoring residents' basic needs.'
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
‘Heartbreak': Out-of-control N.L. wildfire continues to burn, many cabins lost
Newfoundland and Labrador officials continue to try to control a wildfire that started Monday afternoon and grew quickly in Chance Harbour, on the Bonavista Peninsula, reaching 1,200 hectares on Tuesday, according to the provincial government's active wildfire website. Ryan Pitts, whose family lost a cabin, says listening to community members grieve their properties has left him 'broken.' Read more:
