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CTV News
03-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘Trying to fight a fire with a water pistol': First Nations leaders call for more resources to fight wildfires in Manitoba
Paul Boissoneault from Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs discusses the need for a national fire service and what that would entail. First Nations leaders in northern Manitoba say they don't have proper equipment to fight the wildfires that are devastating their communities and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Multiple leaders spoke at a joint news conference Tuesday, calling on the province and federal governments to provide more support to help ensure people living in their communities are safe. 'Our chiefs, our leadership, they're having to respond and be reactive to what is happening right now, rather than being proactive,' said the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs' Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. 'If they had the tools and they had the equipment that they need to keep their community safe with any natural disaster, then they would have been able to approach this in a different way.' Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias and Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Chief Gordie Bear have both said their communities have not received any firefighting equipment since the state of emergency was declared by the province. According to the latest fire bulletin from the province on Monday, the fire near Mathias Colomb is around 10,000 hectares in size and burning out of control, while the Pimicikamak fire is around 3,300 hectares in size and also burning out of control. Bear said all the community has is two fire trucks and garden hoses used to flood the hockey rink. 'We have a pile of garden hoses and cots. We don't need those cots. We have beds at home. Give us equipment; we'll protect ourselves and we'll stop the fire,' said Bear. 'Give us resources; give us the power.' All but 50 essential workers have been evacuated from the community. Monias said his community has just one fire truck and nothing else. 'I even asked for a fire truck if they can even let us borrow one so we can spray the houses, the rooftops, and try and prevent any embers from flying off onto the shingles to make sure that we are protecting our property,' said Monias. Monias said the people who are fighting the fires are doing a great job, and he thanked them for all their work, but noted there aren't enough people. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Grand Chief Garrison Settee said Manitoba would be facing a very different situation right now if the proper supports were already in place in all of these communities. 'They could have put out many of these fires if they had basic fire suppression tools, water tankers, even things like hoses and protective gear,' said Settee. 'It's like trying to fight a fire with a water pistol. That's what our leaders are faced with. That's what our firefighters are faced with.' Wilson said it is time for the provincial and federal governments to step up and provide the support that is needed to get the fires under control and allow the 17,000-plus evacuees to return home. 'It doesn't matter about jurisdictional issues or who's responsible for what. We needed equipment in the communities yesterday,' said Wilson. Wilson said she is doing an assessment of what is needed in each community and will be sending her findings to both the province and federal government. CTV News has reached out to the Manitoba and federal governments for comment.
CBC
03-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Northern First Nations call for firefighting equipment to protect communities as they wrap up evacuations
First Nations in northern Manitoba are asking for more equipment as they continue battling wildfires that helped trigger a provincewide state of emergency last week. People in Pukatawagan Cree Nation resorted to fighting the fire with hoses "no bigger than a garden hose," Chief Gordie Bear said at a news conference Tuesday morning. "We have root fire, we have fire hot spots coming out of some places two, three days later because we got no water," Bear said. "If we had water to [douse] these little hot flames out, we'd catch up to the fire." The fire in Pukatawagan — also known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation — has been active since May 27 and was reported at 10,000 hectares in the Monday fire bulletin. As of Monday evening, the community was working to fight the out-of-control flames with only two fire trucks, three MARK-3 fire pumps and about 2,000 feet of hose, Bear said. "Years ago … we had shovels, we had pickaxes, we had Pulaskis. We don't have any of that," he said, "absolutely nothing from the Department of Natural Resources for fire suppression. Again, we say we have nothing but hose for our gardens, rakes for the lawns — nothing to fight fires with." Fifty pumps, 1,500 1.5-inch hoses and 500 sprinklers were moved into Manitoba on Monday, according to rough estimates in the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre's latest daily fire situation report. South of Pukatawagan, Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said his community is working with only one fire truck as it looks to protect local property with a wildfire "by our doorstep." "For a community of 10,000 people, that's ridiculous.… We're fighting even just to get water bombers," Monias said. "We have a state of emergency provincewide, and we're still fighting for resources when they should be coming readily." The wildfire near Pimicikamak — also known as Cross Lake — was about 3,300 hectares in size as of the latest bulletin. Monias said Pimicikamak was working to get the last members out of the community on Tuesday. Military evacuation flight out of the wildfire zone 15 hours ago Duration 5:15 As out-of-control wildfires threaten communities in northern Manitoba, The National's Adrienne Arsenault travels with the Canadian military on a critical evacuation flight out of Pukatawagan. Pukatawagan has evacuated everyone but about 50 essential workers, Chief Bear said. Emergency co-ordinator Tobi Bighetty said 1,350 people were relocated, with only a few still remaining in The Pas. Bighetty said besides those who drove themselves, 240 evacuees were sent south on Via Rail, 600 were bussed out and the remainder were flown out on Hercules and King Air planes. Pukatawagan is about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg as the crow flies. Pimicikamak is about 500 kilometres north of the Manitoba capital.
National Observer
03-06-2025
- General
- National Observer
Got heart, no equipment: First Nations left defenceless against Manitoba fires
As wildfires continue to burn across Manitoba, First Nations leaders say their communities remain 'defenceless' due to a lack of proper firefighting equipment and resources. The province is experiencing one of its most severe wildfire seasons in decades, with 25 active fires. There have been a total of 106 already this season, far above the province's 20-year annual average of 84 at this time of year. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, at a press conference on May 30, explained that the province is throwing everything it has at the fires. "We are using every firefighter that we have,' Kinew said. But Gordie Bear, chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (also known as Pukatawagan), said the province is overlooking a key resource: his people. 'We have the ability. We have our courage. We have a lot of heart. But we got no equipment,' Bear said. 'Today, we do not even have a garden hose to fight fire.' Pukatawagan once had its own fire suppression team on standby — equipped with fire trucks, hoses and water pumps, he said. 'We have the ability. We have our courage. We have a lot of heart. But we got no equipment,' said Gordie Bear, chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. Now, they have two trucks built for house fires, not forest infernos threatening entire communities. They're forced to shuttle water back and forth from a distant station. 'We live in a boreal forest, and these fire trucks are not equipped to do that,' he said. 'This system, this is like a Mickey Mouse thing.' What is needed are powerful pumps that can draw water directly from lakes and modern, high-volume equipment capable of projecting water long distances, he said. But the support for local fire suppression teams and services was pulled out. The current lack of equipment means not only can they not protect their own community — they can't help others either. 'The hard part is that we cannot go and help Sherridon. We cannot go and help Cross Lake. We're not equipped to help anybody but run,' Bear said. Even if they had equipment, lack of certification among community members is a major barrier. There have been no certification courses offered at his reserve for the past three years, leaving the community without qualified personnel. Many young people are ready to help, Bear said, but cannot participate in firefighting efforts without proper certification. 'Until they're certified, you need to stand and watch your forest burn,' Bear said. Bear believes modifying regulations would allow more local residents — many of whom already possess essential skills — to help protect their land from wildfires. 'We hold water all our lives. We know how to stand in a line. A little training, and we'll be able to do it again — with equipment.' Bear is frustrated that the current system leaves communities 'defenceless' and 'useless,' forced to watch their homes burn without help. Evacuations across Manitoba and Saskatchewan Approximately 2,700 people are registered for evacuation from their community. Of those, around 1,700 had already been moved and about 800 people were still awaiting evacuation. Evacuations have been hard on elders and those with medical needs. Canadian Forces Chinook helicopters helped transport hundreds of residents to safety after smoke forced the closure of Pukatawagan's only airstrip, Bear said. Wildfires have forced evacuations across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. First Nations are hit the hardest — impacting entire reserves, like Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake), Pukatawagan and Marcel Colomb First Nation. Other communities — Sherridon, Flin Flon and Lynn Lake — have had evacuation orders and advisories. Many evacuees spent days in crowded Winnipeg shelters before being relocated as far as Niagara Falls, Ontario, because there wasn't enough hotel space in Manitoba. Kyra Wilson, grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations Manitoba said First Nations communities like Pukatawagan should not have to rely on Indigenous Services Canada or outside governments to respond to crises. 'Our nations and our chiefs, that is our government. We need to ensure that all levels of government are recognizing that we take care of our own,' said Wilson. 'We just need the supplies and equipment to be able to do that.' 'Looking ahead, Manitoba is going to have to build our wildfire service in the future with the capacity to respond to seasons like this,' Kinew said at the press conference. The wildfires are also a reminder of the growing impacts of climate change. Manitoba has had an early heat wave with temperatures 13 C above seasonal average that increase the chance of wildfires, according to climate experts. "I've lived on the land for the longest time… lots of things happen that are not normal," Bear said. He is 71 years old and calls himself 'old school.' He struggles to fully understand climate change and isn't sure if he'll be able to adapt to it during his lifetime. 'All I see in front of me is my land burning, turning black.'
Canada Standard
01-06-2025
- General
- Canada Standard
'We're Getting Desperate': Chinook Helicopters En Route as 2,000 Stranded by Manitoba Wildfire
Two Canadian Forces Chinook helicopters were on their way to the Pukatawagan Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba Saturday morning, where about 2,000 people were stranded with a wildfire just a kilometre away. The community, also known as the Mathias Colomb First Nation, declared an emergency after the airport was closed by a power outage and smoke, while rail lines were blocked by the flames. Located about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, Pukatawagan has no road access, and navigation on nearby waterways is not considered safe. Chinooks have a capacity of 35 to 55 passengers plus crew. First responders previously had access to smaller helicopters that were evacuating people six to 13 at a time. "We're getting desperate now," Chief Gordie Bear told CBC News Thursday. "It's getting rougher. We're going to be heading for the lake... shortly if nothing turns out, if nothing puts the flame out." "We need more resources. We need to move them immediately," said band councillor Kelly Linklater. "The community is in a panic." "I don't even like the words 'to be patient,'" added councillor Connie Constant. "We can't be patient. We need action. We need action now." Constant was responding to Premier Wab Kinew's calls for calm, during a media briefing Friday where he tried to respond to criticisms that evacuations in First Nations communities had been slow and poorly planned. "With transportation, the Canadian Armed Forces is in the business of meticulous planning before they deploy aircraft or before they deploy their troops," Kinew said. "I understand how Manitobans might look at a given situation and have questions. But I'm here to reassure you and tell you that you have the best people leading the response." Kinew said the local hospital in The Pas was under a code orange, meaning it was preparing for a mass casualty or disaster event, CBC reports. View our latest digests On Saturday morning, Manitoba's wildfire map listed the fire near Pukatawagan, designated WE025, at 9,785 hectares and out of control. The site identified 106 active fires across the province totalling 416,340 hectares. On Thursday, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson had decried "delays in response times, delays in supports," warning that "lives are being threatened by wildfires, yet we have to sit back and we have to wait. How is that fair?" On Friday, she said the situation was becoming dire, with communities kept in the dark on what's to be done. "Nobody is communicating with us. Nobody is communicating with our leadership," she told a news conference in Winnipeg, adding that communities were getting only vague reassurances when they asked for firefighting equipment, including water pumps and hoses. "We have communities that have no electricity," she said. "They have no water. They're running out of fuel, running out food." Elsewhere, the chief of Cross Lake (Pimicikamak) Cree Nation credited Kinew with getting federal support for air evacuations, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) reports. "We have been calling on government of Canada to send the Canadian armed forces to help us. But they told me they had to wait for the province to exhaust their resources," Chief David Monias said on social media. "Thanks to Premier Wab Kinew, he called the Prime Minister and they will get the Canadian armed forces to help us." At his media conference Friday, Kinew said Manitoba has never before seen a moment where large wildfires were simultaneously burning in every part of the province. He called the crisis a "serious inflection point", with about 17,000 people evacuated from their homes so far. On Friday, Climate Central reported that inflection point was brought by an early-season heat wave made at least five times more likely by climate change. Temperatures have exceeded seasonal averages by 12.2 to 13.5C in Manitoba and by 6.6 to 11.4C in Saskatchewan, the U.S.-based analysts said, and both provinces are facing drought conditions ranging from Abnormally Dry to Moderate Drought. "This kind of heat would be incredibly unlikely without climate change," Climate Central Vice President of Science Dr. Kristina Dahl said in a release. "These conditions, which set the stage for dangerous wildfires, will only become more frequent and more severe if we continue burning fossil fuels." "Climate change-driven heat dries out vegetation and sets the stage for wildfires," added wildfire specialist Kaitlyn Trudeau, the organization's senior research associate for climate science. "Combine that with persistent drought and a locked-in high-pressure system, and you have a perfect storm." Kinew said as the fires grow, thousands more evacuees can be expected and that communities like Winnipeg, Thompson, and The Pas have already stepped up to help provide food and shelter. He said he spoke with some evacuees in Winnipeg. "(It's) very scary, very tiring, long days for people who've been on the road and in the air to find their way to safety," he said. Kinew said more outside help has arrived, including 125 firefighters from the United States. Winnipeg has opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, businesspeople, and conventiongoers. Manitoba declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday to trigger a coordinated response across levels of government. In northern Manitoba, more people were leaving their homes Saturday as wildfires continued to threaten communities, The Canadian Press reports. The roughly 600 residents of Cranberry Portage were placed under a mandatory evacuation order after fires knocked out power to the community-a situation expected to last for days. An evacuation of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, which started earlier this week, is ongoing and officials were expecting five flights to leave for Winnipeg Saturday. One of the major areas of concern is Flin Flon, a city of some 5,000 residents that has already been evacuated. A fire is burning very close to town and officials are worried a shift in the wind could bring flames right into the community. The forecast for the region does not call for rain in the coming days. Earlier Friday, Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said fierce winds were threatening to breach city limits and begin burning structures in the city of 5,000, located 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, CP writes. "Unless we get one heck of a boost, (the fire) is projected to take chunks out of our town and surrounding areas," Fontaine said in an interview. "It's looking very ugly right now. "We're begging for air support (to help douse the fire). It's really crucial." Beyond Manitoba, thousands have been affected by wildfires in Saskatchewan and Alberta, with 1,300 people in the community of Swan Hills northwest of Edmonton already forced from their homes, as have the 900 residents of Chateh in the northwestern corner of the province. Firefighters battling a blaze near Chipewyan Lake, Alberta, lost radio contact late Thursday and were forced to take shelter at the local fire hall and school. Major segments of this story were first published by The Canadian Press. Source: The Energy Mix
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pukatawagan evacuation ramps up: Larger aircraft arrive as airport reopens
The evacuation of a Manitoba First Nation forced out by wildfires is ramping up with larger aircraft helping out and the reopening of the community's only airport. However, concerns remain about the sheer number of residents still stranded days after they were ordered out. Thousands of people have been waiting to be flown out from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, since the mandatory evacuation order came on Wednesday. Smoke from out-of-control wildfires shut down the community's only airstrip on Thursday. With some aircraft limited to groups of between six and 13 people since then, officials in the community had said it would take days before the evacuation would be complete. The airport reopened on Saturday morning after the smoke cleared enough to allow aircraft to land, Chief Gordie Bear told CBC News. WATCH | Helicopters for Pukatawagan evacuees land in The Pas: "We won't leave you behind, but you gotta wait in line then so that we can come out without a stampede, without fighting at the gate to get out," he said. However, the runway in Pukatawagan can only accommodate helicopters and light planes, excluding other military aircraft such as the Hercules that can handle a greater number of people, Bear said. "You can only do so much," he said. The out-control wildfire, first reported Tuesday, was 9,785 hectares in size and about a kilometre away from the community as of Thursday, according to the province's wildfire map. Double-rotor Chinook helicopters from the Canadian Forces were flying evacuees from Pukatawagan roughly 210 kilometres south to The Pas on Saturday. Bear said about 500 residents were expected to be evacuated during the 10-hour window limiting flight crews are timed out for the day and operations resume on Sunday morning. "It's very hard to speak for everybody in general, but nobody wants to leave," Bear said. "This is not a vacation, they are going into a different environment." The evacuation is also bringing the trauma some residential school survivors endured after being forcefully removed from their community as he was, Bear said. However, the threat of the wildfire, combined with the smoke-filled air and a power outage means everyone must leave, Bear said. Opaskwayak Cree Nation set up a centre for evacuees to help them transition into more permanent shelters in southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg and Brandon, said Diane Pelly, executive director for government services in the community. "There's nowhere here in the north … to accommodate them," she said. "Everybody's really being tested with the supports that are required, and unfortunately, it is relocating to the south." Hundreds of evacuees came from Flin Flon on Wednesday. The next day the centre started welcoming people from Pukatwagan who have been arriving in helicopters at the Clearwater Lake Airport in The Pas. Some evacuees were expected to travel in an emergency VIA Rail train to southern Manitoba on Friday, Pelly said. She was also aware there are also plans to temporarily relocate others to Ontario. But in the process, she said, some families are losing track of relatives, spurring worry during an already stressful situation. "We're doing our very best to move them as quickly as possible," Pelly said. "There's still a large number of individuals that need to be transferred out." Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
