Latest news with #JackBrisco
CBC
21-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Wildfire evacuation order in RM of Alexander partially lifted but people face 2-hour notice to leave again
Some people forced from homes and cottages by Manitoba's largest wildfire are being allowed to return — but with a warning they face a two-hour evacuation notice, if necessary. "That's probably close to half, maybe one-third, of all the people affected can go back. A very big estimated number is [that the fire is] affecting 1,000 people so it's possible that a few hundred are going back," said Jack Brisco, mayor of the rural municipality of Alexander. The RM covers a large geographic area, from the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg to north and then east of Lac du Bonnet. That eastern boundary is sandwiched between the wildfire in the RM of Lac du Bonnet and the massive one raging through Nopiming Provincial Park. The Lac du Bonnet one, which peaked at about 4,000 hectares is now listed as being held. The Nopiming one is 101,689 hectares and still listed as out of control. It's more than twice the size of the province's next largest fire, near The Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, which grew to 42,650 hectares at one point but is now being held, according to the province's FireView page. The Nopiming fire is the one that spread into the RM of Alexander, where it has burned about 5,000 hectares. However, "the municipality has been advised that the imminent risk of danger to life and properties in your area has diminished at this time," states a message posted to the RM of Alexander website on Tuesday evening. As a result, the evacuation order has been lifted for the area west of the intersection of Highways 313 and 315 — Miller Road, Lakeshore Bay, Paradise Lane, Pinawa Place, Woodland Drive, Cedarwood Road, Strong Road, Tuokko Drive, Keystone Heights, Second Street and First Street. But to be allowed to return, residents must be registered with the RM of Alexander's Connect system, a communication system that allows alerts to be directly and immediately received. "If you can't get out within two hours, you're not going to be allowed to go back," Brisco said. "Because the fire is still ongoing … [and] it does not take long for it to travel through miles of bush if the wind is blowing the right way. "People really want to go home, and we really do want them to go home, but only under safe conditions." The call to lift part of the evacuation order was made by the Manitoba Wildfire Service in consultation with the crews on the ground, Brisco said. "They deemed safe enough, as long as the people are on Connect." The Nopiming fire has destroyed 20 cabins and homes around Beresford Lake and 19 structures on seasonal sites at Black Lake. People there have said the intensity of the heat has caused boats to partially melt. But so far there have been no losses in the RM of Alexander, Brisco said. "We have not lost a building or even a shed, as far as I know."
CTV News
17-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
How Canadians can prepare for the possibility of a wildfire
Paul Boissonneault from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs discusses how to stay safe during the 2025 wildfire season. As wildfires become more frequent across Canada, one expert is urging the public to take necessary precautions, saying that even simple steps can help reduce risk and improve safety during wildfire season. 'The 2025 wildfire season is already upon us. We've already had 1,150 wildfires take place in Canada this year,' Paul Boissonneault, secretary for Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, told CTV Your Morning on Friday. 'To suggest that we're in an unprecedented fire season simply cannot be stated anymore.' Boissonneault says that precautions can start with small actions, urging people to clear debris in their houses and stay alert to firework risks. 'We're heading into the Victoria Day weekend and we'd ask (people) that they don't operate professional fireworks,' Boissonneault added. 'Leave those to the professionals who have their certifications and training.' This week, wildfires in Manitoba have prompted the mayor of a rural municipality to warn residents to stay indoors, as firefighters worked to contain the situation. 'If you're in Winnipeg and wondering what's going on, please don't come out. Stay where you are,' RM of Alexander Mayor Jack Brisco said Friday morning. RCMP confirmed two people have died in Manitoba wildfires. Many Ontarians will remember the devastating 2023 wildfires. That year, 441,000 hectares of forests burned between April and October, an area slightly than Prince Edward Island. That was nearly three times more than the 10-year average, according to provincial data. The wildfires were so severe that the province sought help from firefighters from the U.S. and Mexico. During a wildfire, there are measures one can take to protect against harmful smoke. Boissonneault says N95 masks, commonly used during the COVID-19 lockdowns, can provide protection against dangerous airborne particles. When such protection is not available, he said 'you can certainly wet pieces of clothing and cover your face to try and get through smoke.' What to take during an evacuation? 'You take the bare essentials,' Boissonneault said. 'You need to take things that are extremely important to you.' That could include critical medications, non-perishable food items and flashlights, among others. He also points to a useful resource called 'Be FireSmart,' a wildfire emergency preparation plan accessible to the public that contains useful tips.
CBC
17-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Firefighters battling Nopiming wildfire in 'protection mode' to save buildings, cabins
Social Sharing Officials in the Rural Municipality of Alexander are in "protection mode" as more than 100 firefighters are on the ground near Bird River to combat the spread of a wildfire that has engulfed parts of Nopiming Provincial Park. The wildfire is now approximately 100,000 hectares in size, according to a fire update from the province at 5 p.m. on Friday. Mac Kinghorn, the rural municipality's deputy mayor and fire chief with the Bird River Fire Department, says the fire —- located on the south side of the Bird River Bible Camp —- "is big and it is out of control." In a video posted to Facebook on Friday afternoon, Kinghorn said water bombing was supposed to be done Friday, if weather allowed, and sprinklers have been installed on the roofs of cabins to limit damage caused by the fire. "Hopefully that will help to protect things some more," Kinghorn said of the water bombers. Mayor Jack Brisco said 100 firefighters are in "protection mode," trying to defend structures from further damage, where it is safe to do so. Brisco said the heavy rain on Friday has actually made it difficult to get water bombers in the air to fight the fire. He said that as of Friday morning, water bombers from Ontario have joined crews battling the Nopiming blaze. "They're in a defensive mode right now and looking at protecting buildings. They really aren't going out into the forest to fight the fire. They're looking after structures right now," Brisco told CBC's Marcy Markusa in an interview on Radio Noon Manitoba. All residents in the impacted areas near Bird River have been evacuated, the province said, as have staff at Bernic Lake Mine. Sections of highways 315 and 314 have been closed and blocked, the province said. Brisco estimates 1,000 people have been evacuated from the area, with the fire affecting residents in 400 homes across 20 subdivisions. He told Markusa that no properties in the area had been destroyed as of Friday afternoon. "We don't know when you'll be able to get back in but it's going to be a bit yet before conditions allow that to happen," Kinghorn said. Residents will have to stay away until after the Victoria Day long weekend, said Brisco, as he "can't see that happening over the weekend at all." Krystal Laurin is a permanent resident in the "close-knit" community of Bissett, about 70 kilometres north of Bird River near the northern reaches of the wildfire in the provincial park. "This is where I live. I work at the mine in town, so this is … everything, right? So if you lose it all I mean it's no different than everybody in Lac du Bonnet currently. We're just on edge," Laurin said. "People even have sprinklers and stuff set up in their house should these winds change," she said. Reena Hubatka, who lives in Calgary but has a family cabin on Beresford Lake, says she feels "overwhelmed" and "scared" and "sad" after the wildfire forced her to cancel plans to be with her family in Manitoba over the Victoria Day long weekend. "Wildfires [have] been something that we've all experienced in Canada in the past however many years, just hearing people losing their homes and fleeing. Of course it sounds tragic, but until it's something you're experiencing it's so hard," Hubatka told CBC News. Hubatka said it's been difficult to get official information, but believes her cabin is OK at this point. She says other family and friends in the area may not be so lucky. "It's just so sad and devastating," she said.
CBC
17-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Manitoba wildfire evacuees returning home thankful for rain
Social Sharing Some residents of the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet who have been able to return home are thankful they're getting some rain, even as officials warn they'll need more than that for wildfire conditions in the province to really improve. The evacuation order for permanent residents living in an area south of Wendigo Road in the eastern Manitoba municipality was lifted Wednesday evening, according to the RM of Lac du Bonnet website. Re-entry was authorized for the Wendigo Road subdivisions and residences from Provincial Road 313 to Newcombe Road at 8 p.m. that night. The rural municipality said as many as 50 families could now be able to come back home. Cathie Austen was staying at a friend's cottage when she heard residents in the area would be allowed back in. By 8 p.m., she was already lined up and ready to return home. "We were like, 'Yay!'" she said. "[Doing] the old happy dance." Environment Canada is reporting some areas of southern Manitoba received up to 70 millimetres of rain over the last 48 hours, though southeastern regions, including Lac du Bonnet, got less than 10 millimetres of rain as of Friday morning. But more rain is on the way — along with a temperature drop — with the agency forecasting a period of rain mixed with snow after midnight Friday in the area, and risk of freezing rain overnight. Conditions improving in Bird River Jack Brisco, mayor of the RM of Alexander — which is dealing with the largest of the wildfires currently active in the province, in the Nopiming area — said conditions have improved because of the cooler and wet weather, though it also caused some problems Friday morning. "Bombers from Manitoba, I know they had problems in Gimli because they're getting so much rain," he said. "We've had assistance from bombers from Ontario, so all of them are pitching in and doing their best to look after this fire." That fire, located about one kilometre from Bird River, was about 100,000 hectares, according to the province's latest fire bulletin, issued Friday afternoon. About 100 firefighters are currently defensively battling the flames around Bird River, Brisco said in an interview with Radio Noon. Close to 400 residences in the rural municipality have been issued evacuation orders, with Brisco estimating up to 1,000 people may have been forced out of their homes or cottages. The mayor said he's hoping for a good downpour of rain to help put out the fire. "The wind is blowing from the north now … so it's going in a little bit of a new direction," he said. "The conditions are better, but the wind isn't really helping out right now." The Lac du Bonnet area fire remained at around 4,000 hectares as of the latest fire bulletin. Travel is still restricted in several areas still under evacuation order. "The rain is helping, but obviously [there's still] tinder-dry conditions, there's tree stumps and trees that are still on fire, burning on the inside," RM of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel said, adding that it may take two or three days before any evacuation orders are changed, even with perfect weather. "We are worried about lives and property," Schinkel said. "We know that the fire in that area flared up again last night and Wildfire Services says we're not letting anything go until we're sure it's all put out and secure for the residents to return." He's urging residents to be patient while officials wait on conditions to improve before lifting further evacuation orders. "You would think a little bit of moisture, you know, would help extinguish it — and it [does]. But we need this soaking rain for a few days to really get control of it," he said. The wildfire in the rural municipality killed two people and has destroyed at least 28 buildings. Ronald Runzer came back Friday to find his house was still standing, but his workshop and storage sheds were "burned into the ground."
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Wildfire Watch: RM of Alexander updates
Mayor Jack Brisco shares how his community is coping with the wildfire threat and what support evacuees can expect.
