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Winnipeg Free Press

First Nations demand end to wildfire ‘cycle of failure'

Four wildfire-affected First Nations in northern Manitoba urged the federal and provincial governments Friday to do more prevention work and collaborate to avoid future mass evacuations of the fly-in communities. More than 6,000 evacuees from the remote Island Lake region — composed of Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack Anisininew nations — have been out of their homes since July. 'We demand that emergency-response investments are made to Anisininew nations, which is only a small component of our unfinished business,' Alex McDougall, grand chief of Anisininew Okimawin told reporters in Winnipeg. Anisininew Okimawin is a council that represents the four First Nations. The chiefs of the communities, also backed by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, called on Ottawa to spend more on wildfire-prevention measures such as community-led fire breaks and local firefighting teams. They called on governments to fund infrastructure projects, including an all-season road, that would reduce the need for evacuation flights. Other demands included a tripartite emergency accord, regional evacuation and national Indigenous fire strategies, and respect for Anisininew leadership. The chiefs said prevention measures could have been implemented, but weren't, after a mass evacuation in 2017. 'This is not an emergency system. This is a cycle of failure. Our chiefs in Anisininew nations are saying to Canada, 'The cycle ends now,'' he said. The Free Press has requested comments from the federal and provincial comments. The Island Lake region is about 600 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Several fires were burning in the area Friday. The largest was an out-of-control blaze, measuring 37,857 about hectares, that forced a full evacuation of Garden Hill. The fire was caused by human activity and detected July 6, the Manitoba Wildfire Service said. The Manitoba government extended a 30-day provincewide state of emergency, which was set to expire Friday, to Aug. 22. It is the second Manitoba-wide state of emergency since late May. About 14,000 Manitobans were displaced as of Friday. The wildfire service reported 159 active fires as of Wednesday, for a total of 403 since the season began in April. Almost 1.7 million hectares of land has burned. That is the most since 1989's record of more than three million hectares. Chris KitchingReporter Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris. Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.