Latest news with #ElizabethCharrier
CTV News
4 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Wildfires threaten several communities in northern Manitoba
A helicopter crew works on a wildfire as another is shown flying by in northern Manitoba during a helicopter tour in the surrounding area of Flin Flon, Man., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Deal-Pool Wildfires continue to wreak havoc across much of northern Manitoba. Firefighters are desperately trying to save the town of Leaf Rapids, as a wildfire has now spread to the community. Earlier this week, a fire jumped the Churchill River near town and entered Leaf Rapids, leaving one home, several abandoned structures and some vehicles damaged. The community is under a mandatory evacuation, and some 350 residents are now mostly in Winnipeg. Longtime Leaf Rapids resident Elizabeth Charrier says it's been a tough situation to follow. 'A lot of anxiety,' she said Saturday morning. 'We really just don't know what's going to happen.' Charrier has been in Winnipeg for over two weeks. She says she feels helpless. 'It's so scary,' she said. 'The last map that I have seen where the fire had impacted was right by the bay, right next to where my house is.' Charrier was able to bring some important valuables with her to safety, including family photos and her father's urn, but there were many other things she couldn't take. 'We had to leave our five dogs,' she said. 'We didn't have any kennels, and we had a packed vehicle. We had no choice but to leave them.' The Town of Leaf Rapids posted an update on its Facebook page Friday saying fire activity in the community had increased. 'There are five bulldozers working in addition to emergency services staff and police,' the statement reads. 'Firefighters from Manitoba, Mexico and additional firefighters from Quebec, expected to arrive today, continue to detect and put out hot spots.' Power remains out in the community at this time. Fire crews were forced to temporarily leave the area as ash and embers rained on the town. Crews were eventually able to return to continue fire suppression efforts. For Charrier, it's a stressful time. '(It's) a lot of anxiety. That is the biggest thing,' she said. 'Your mind is getting the best of you, thinking of what the possibilities could be, because you don't know what's happening right now.' Ervin Bighetty has been staying at a Winnipeg hotel with his family since they were forced to evacuate two weeks ago. 'Every fire around Leaf Rapids is becoming a threat for the community,' he said outside his hotel room in Winnipeg. 'Every day, people keep looking, watching and seeing as things develop, and they are afraid that if and when the fire reaches the community, there won't be a home to go to.' He says it's been hard to get up-to-date information on the situation. 'I have been getting my friends (in the community) to keep me informed, and they are telling me the hydro is out,' he said. Snow Lake, Lynn Lake still under threat The town of Snow Lake, south of Leaf Rapids, is also dealing with a spreading wildfire, now within half a kilometre of the town. 'As the fire is close, embers are expected to fall in town limits,' a post on the town's Facebook page reads. 'The town has been divided into zones, with crews constantly patrolling the town to watch for this happening.' Workers in two mines near the community, and residents in the town, have left. Snow Lake remains under a mandatory evacuation order. 'Sprinklers and other values protection methods are set up, constantly monitored, and are running in the areas of the community closest to the fire,' a post from Saturday reads. 'The fire has passed by Lalor mine site. There has been no structural damage, and the mine remains intact.' Meanwhile, in the town of Lynn Lake, wildfire crews were grounded yesterday due to heavy smoke conditions, but resumed operations Saturday as conditions improved. 'Aerial bucketing operations continued near the Laurie River Generating Station yesterday, where the fire remains within 2 kilometres of the hydro transmission line that supplies power to Lynn Lake,' reads a post from the town's Facebook page Saturday. 'This area continues to be actively monitored and actioned due to the potential threat to critical infrastructure.' The post says warmer, drier weather is expected over the next few days, which could increase fire activity. In Thompson, the largest city in northern Manitoba, progress is being made on an out-of-control wildfire north of the city. Officials there say one new fire broke out in the north on Friday, but crews are already responding. The city is projecting heavy smoke in the region due to fires in Leaf Rapids and along the Saskatchewan border. 'Basic essentials' still needed, Manitoba Grand Chief says Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee says he is hearing that more breathing apparatuses and hoses are needed in the north. But he also says there is still a lack of First Nations firefighters. 'They need people that will be trained. People that will be ready,' he said Saturday. 'Instead of allowing external entities to come and fight fires for us. We need to be prepared.' 'You need a lot of manpower, but we simply do not have enough,' he added. 'We also need aerial support. We need water bombers, helicopters, reconnaissance.' Settee believes this is now an opportunity to look at emergency management in a different way for the future. 'We live in a new reality,' he said. 'We have to adapt to this climate change, and we have to be more effective. We have to be more proactive, and we have to have a preparedness plan that will be very proactive to the point that we start preparing in the wintertime.' 'This caught us off guard. I think it caught everybody off guard.'
CBC
22-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Without local leadership, Leaf Rapids wildfire evacuees 'fending for ourselves,' resident says
Social Sharing Evacuees of a northern Manitoba town surrounded by the threat of nearby wildfires say that without local leadership, they're stuck searching for updates. The Town of Leaf Rapids told its 300 residents they had 24 hours to get out of the northern community, about 155 kilometres northwest of Thompson, when it declared a local state of emergency on July 7. Three out-of-control wildfires were within 25 kilometres of the town as of Monday, including one just four kilometres away, according to the province's most recent bulletin. The town has been without a mayor and council — and has been run by a provincially-appointed administrator — since the council was dissolved in 2019, following the resignations of several members. That's made things harder for evacuees while they're away from home, said Elizabeth Charrier, one evacuee staying in a Winnipeg hotel alongside others from her community over the last two weeks. "We don't know who to look for for guidance. We don't know who to ask for help," she told CBC News on Monday. Charrier says it feels like she and other evacuees are "fending for ourselves" in Winnipeg, with most of them reliant on social media for updates. Many residents don't know what they're going to go home to, Charrier said, calling the situation "sad." "A lot of people own their own homes there," she said. "If they burn, a lot of people don't have insurance, and it's really hard to get it there." As of Monday, there are 120 active wildfires and there have been 331 to date this fire season. Manitoba's 20-year average for fires for this time of year is 243, the province said. Provincial officials say there is a fire guard built around Leaf Rapids and firefighters are ready to go if flames get to the community's edge. 'Who are we supposed to go to?' Ervin Bighetty, also a Leaf Rapids resident, says the town's back trails were bulldozed to create a wider fire break, but that may not solve the problem. "You know the problem with Leaf Rapids, it was designed to be fully covered in forest," he said Monday. He's helped to co-ordinate local firefighting efforts in Leaf Rapids, but with no town leadership, Bighetty says residents are being left behind. "There's currently no mayor and council, there's no government body in charge other than the provincial government and the company that's in charge," he said. "Who's supposed to take care of us when this is all over? If we have no homes to go to, who are we supposed to go to?" Charrier shares the same concern. "We didn't know how long we'd be here for, and we still don't know. Everything's kind of day-to-day," she said. "I feel like we'd be a little more prepared in these situations if we had someone that we knew we were being guided by." CBC News has reached out to the provincial government for comment. Wildfire flames inch closer to Leaf Rapids 3 minutes ago The province says the town, about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is surrounded by wildfires, with the closest one burning just four kilometres away. Some evacuees are left with uncertainty around what they'll return to.
CBC
06-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Evacuation 'likely expected' for Leaf Rapids as wildfires threaten northern Manitoba town
Social Sharing Leaf Rapids residents are being told to get ready to leave on short notice as wildfires threaten yet another Manitoba community. The town announced in a Facebook post at 10 a.m. Sunday that an evacuation is "likely expected," and could come into effect with notice of 10 hours or less. A fire southwest of the community was more than 5,000 hectares in size as of Saturday, according to the provincial fire map. Another blaze to Leaf Rapids' southeast — near O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation — was about 100 hectares, with the town saying in a previous update it may threaten hydro infrastructure. Both fires remained out of control as of the latest provincial update. "I woke up about 6:30 a.m. and it was really smoky outside. You could smell it inside and I was kind of nervous to even go back to bed," Leaf Rapids resident Elizabeth Charrier said. "My daughter has a cold right now and my son has asthma. So I've just been keeping them in because it is affecting people's breathing.… [there's a] lot of elders here that have health issues." The town said arrangements for the evacuation are taking place, and further notice will be given to residents once there are any updates. WATCH | Northern communities forced to evacuate again by fires: Northern Manitoba communities forced to evacuate again as multiple fires burn 2 hours ago Duration 4:29 A wildfire destroyed at least seven homes and forced nearly 200 people to evacuate from Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northeastern Manitoba, the community's chief and council said in a social media post on Saturday. Additionally, about 600 residents of the nearby town of Lynn Lake began to evacuate Friday, only two weeks after they returned from an earlier evacuation. Read more: Charrier said the last few days have been stressful. "You don't know what's going to happen next," she said. "We keep going for a ride to just check on the smoke." Provincial Road 493 from Leaf Rapids to Lynn Lake — about 75 kilometres northwest as the crow flies — is closed because of fire and smoke. On Thursday, Lynn Lake residents were ordered to evacuate the community because of the fire there, which was about 80,000 hectares in size. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak said Saturday as many as 150 people with high-priority medical needs were being evacuated out of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin. About 350 people lived in Leaf Rapids as of the 2021 census. The community is about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Charrier said the situation seems to be more in control than about two years ago, when a wildfire forced the evacuation of the town during a leadership turnover. "Our vehicles are packed. We're just putting things like pictures we've been going through," she said. "Last time we were rushing, there was things we thought of after that could burn … I would have wanted to have with me, but this time, we've got our our important things in a bag and everything's in the vehicle and we're ready to go."
