Premier to give Manitoba wildfire update Monday
Provincial officials will give an update on the state of Manitoba wildfires early this afternoon.
Premier Wab Kinew and Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor are holding a news conference at 12:45 p.m. CT about wildfires burning across Manitoba. CBC News will livestream the update here.
Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Conservation Officer Service and the Manitoba Wildfire Service, and Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister of the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, will join the minister and premier for the update at the Manitoba Legislature.
Manitoba declared a 30-day state of emergency May 28 under the Emergency Measures Act, as out-of-control wildfires threatening communities across the province spurred 22,000 people to leave their homes.
Wildfires have burned an estimated 902,000 hectares of the province so far.
Evacuees from some rural and remote regions have begun to return to their communities as the situation has improved around some of the fires burning in the province.
All evacuees staying in Winnipeg had been moved into hotels as of early last week, after the initial crush of evacuees created a shortage of spaces.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham told CBC News late last week that two of four arenas and soccer complexes that have been devoted to helping and housing evacuees are in the process of being decommissioned as shelters, since they're no longer needed.
Recent rain and firefighting efforts have helped quell concerns in some parts of the province, but not all.
Some of the 5,100 Flin Flon residents expecting to be allowed to head home this Wednesday are nervous about seeing the extent of damage to the northern community. A fire in the area was about 370,780 hectares in size as of the provincial fire bulletin released on Friday.
Tataskweyak Cree Nation residents were given the green light to return about a week ago, only for chief and council of the northern community to reverse course hours later due to concerning levels of aluminum found in local water sources.
Meanwhile, business owners, cottagers and residents in the south of Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba got the go-ahead to return midweek last week.
The Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association is calling on the province to provide owners with financial supports to help them shoulder losses due to a season cut short by the fires.
There have been at least 124 fires this spring alone. The average for the past two decades is 118 for the time of year, Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister of the Conservation Officer Service and the Manitoba Wildfire Service, said last week.
Almost 300 firefighters from out of province — including from Newfoundland and Labrador, Parks Canada and U.S. federal and state agencies — were still in Manitoba as of Friday to help with ongoing efforts.
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