Latest news with #ManitobaKeewatinowiOkimakanak
CBC
an hour ago
- General
- CBC
MKO grand chief says First Nations don't have proper equipment to fight wildfires
Garrison Settee, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents First Nations in northern Manitoba, says governments need to do more to ensure communities have enough resources to fight the fires ravaging the province.
Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wildfire forces more out in Saskatchewan, hotels open up for Manitoba evacuees
Winnipeg hotels were opening up Monday to evacuees who fled their homes due to raging wildfires, while to the west in Saskatchewan thousands more were ordered to flee. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency issued an alert late Monday afternoon saying the northern town of La Ronge had ordered an evacuation as fire had breached its airport. The agency said flames were fast moving and that people in the community of 2,500, as well as anyone within 20 kilometres, including nearby Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, had to leave immediately. The blaze was listed as 836 square kilometres in size. Earlier in the day in Saskatoon, where Canada's premiers and the prime minister were meeting, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said all of Canada has come together to help out the Prairie provinces. 'Many others around this table are consistently reaching out to the three of us to offer resources,' he said before the meeting. More than 8,000 Saskatchewan residents were already out of their homes due to fires before the order was made for the La Ronge area. As of Monday, 18 fires were burning in Saskatchewan, with seven of them not contained. In Manitoba, more than 17,000 people have been displaced since last week, including 5,000 residents of Flin Flon near the Saskatchewan boundary. Emergency centres were set up as available hotel rooms in cities have been scarce. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said some 1,000 hotel rooms were being made available for evacuees in Winnipeg. 'Nobody wants to sleep on a cot for more than a day or two, even in an emergency,' Kinew said. 'We're connecting folks who need those enhanced accessibility supports first and then broadening it out to everybody else who needs help, too.' Some residents from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, east of Flin Flon, were taken to hotels in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Sunday. About 600 more were expected to land there Monday. 'This has been a harrowing experience for many of our people. But at the end of the day, it's all about saving lives. It's all about keeping people safe,' said Grand Chief Garrison Settee with Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an advocacy group representing some northern First Nations in the province. Efforts to get First Nations evacuees out of Manitoba are being spearheaded by Xpera, a firm offering various security and evacuation support services. Settee said the company is handling buses, flights and hotel accommodations. Higher courts in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were also to meet this week in Winnipeg for a conference, but it was cancelled to make hotel spaces available to evacuees. The fire threatening Flin Flon began a week ago across the boundary in Saskatchewan and had grown to 400 square kilometres. Crews have said the fire was contained to outside the community's perimeter highway. Residents were ordered out Wednesday in an evacuation that Flin Flon local Derek Kemp called 'immediate and hectic.' A longtime musician, Kemp rounded up his guitars, amplifiers and a hard drive with 20 years' worth of music he couldn't leave behind. He watched the fire grow in the days leading up to the evacuation. 'I just remember seeing a little bit of black smoke,' he said. 'And then the next day, when I woke up, it was just giant plumes of smoke.' Manitoba RCMP said evacuation efforts were completed in Flin Flon and surrounding areas, Lynn Lake and Pimicikamak, Mathias Colomb and Tataskweyak Cree Nations. Manitoba reported 25 active wildfires Sunday. Officials said rain on Monday, while welcome, was 'not enough to contribute towards wildfire suppression efforts.' Kinew said support his province has received from other jurisdictions is appreciated but Canada needs to scale up its firefighting capabilities. 'As a nation, we're going to have to contend with future fire seasons being more and more like this,' he said. 'We could use every water bomber we can get our hands on.' Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her province has seen nearly 5,000 people evacuated. There were 26 fires there listed as out-of-control. The province experienced shifting winds, so some fire crews sent elsewhere have been called home, Smith said. 'With so many communities facing evacuation … we've got to be able to respond in a way that is going to be rapid.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025. — With files from Lisa Johnson, Aaron Sousa and Jack Farrell in Edmonton, and Sharif Hassan in Toronto
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
'The community is in a panic': Pukatawagan calls for more help with airport still closed due to smoke
Pukatawagan Cree Nation's chief and council say residents are growing more anxious as the community's only airstrip remains closed because of wildfire smoke. The northern Manitoba community's airport was still not useable as of Friday afternoon, Pukatawagan councillors said at a news conference with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. Pukatawagan Chief Gordie Bear told CBC News the airport closed around 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday, as winds pushed smoke from the nearby wildfire toward it and the community, preventing planes from landing. Two days after Manitoba declared a provincewide state of emergency and Pukatawagan was ordered evacuated, more than 2,000 people still need to be transported out of the community, Coun. Kelly Linklater said at the news conference. "We need more resources. We need to move them immediately," Linklater said."The community is in a panic." Linklater said first responders have resorted to using helicopters to fly people out, but at the rate that's going, it's would take days to move everyone. Coun. Connie Constant said between six and 13 people can fit on the helicopters, depending on the aircraft's size. The fire, which was first reported Tuesday, according to the province's wildfire map, was 9,785 hectares in size and about a kilometre away from the community as of Thursday. Trains to and from Pukatawagan were already not running because of the fire threat. Constant said the call for help from other levels of government went out "days ago, while we had an airstrip." "Canada, don't wait until we start losing lives," she said. "We matter. Our people matter. So we're trying. If you look at the map, we're in a peninsula. We got nowhere to go." Pukatawagan — also known as Mathias Colomb — is about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Manitoba Hydro said Thursday evening the community was without power because of fire-related damage, adding that there were several burned poles in Pukatawagan, but the full extent of the damage is unknown. Linklater said the community has been without power for three days, and the restoration could take at least a month. Premier calls for calm A Friday afternoon provincial fire bulletin said the federal government and the Canadian Armed Forces are working to support Pukatawagan, "but conditions are very smoky." Before the Pukatawagan news conference, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the Canadian Armed Forces was using helicopters to do reconnaissance in the area as of Friday morning. Aircraft have been taking residents to The Pas for medical attention if needed, Kinew said at a separate news conference. As a precaution, the town's hospital is under a code orange, meaning preparing for a mass casualty or disaster event, he said. WATCH | More evacuations expected, premier says: "I think the most important thing for Manitobans to understand is that we need to be calm," the premier said when asked to address criticisms by First Nations leadership that the province's wildfire response has been poorly communicated. "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." Constant said the community needs more. "I don't even like the words 'to be patient,'" she said. "We can't be patient. We need action. We need action now." Multiple agencies are working to respond to the fire, the latest provincial fire bulletin said. Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Thousands evacuated as wildfires burn in northern Manitoba
May 29 (UPI) -- Thousands of First Nations people in northern Manitoba are being evacuated as the central Canadian province issued a state of emergency to battle fast-moving wildfires, officials said. There are a number of wildfires burning across thousands of acres in northern Manitoba, mostly near the border with Saskatchewan. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 First Nations communities in the province, said in a statement that evacuation orders have been issued for nearly 17,500 people in four First Nations communities with two more communities on evacuation notice. "A lot of our First Nations are under threat because of the fires that have consumed a lot of territory in our area, and I'm just asking all of you, my relatives, to be strong and to be brave and to be courageous during this very difficult time," MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a recorded statement published to Facebook. "This is a very, very critical time in our First Nations." Premier Wab Kinew of Manitoba on Wednesday declared a provincewide state of emergency, which will be in effect for 30 days to ensure federal, provincial and local resources can be deployed in a coordinated response. A statement from the provincial government states that evacuation orders have beeb issued for the city of Flin Flon and the First Nations of Pimicikamak and Mathias Colomb. "This is the largest evacuation in many Manitobans' living memory," Kinew said during a press conference. "This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern. But I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period, and we will get through this trying period the way we always do -- by working together. " He said he has spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who agreed to his request for assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces. The military, he said, will be aiding with evacuation flights to the province' capital of Winnipeg.
UPI
6 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Thousands evacuated as wildfires burn in northern Manitoba
May 29 (UPI) -- Thousands of First Nations people in northern Manitoba are being evacuated as the central Canadian province issued a state of emergency to battle fast-moving wildfires, officials said. There are a number of wildfires burning across thousands of acres in northern Manitoba, mostly near the border with Saskatchewan. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 First Nations communities in the province, said in a statement that evacuation orders have been issued for nearly 17,500 people in four First Nations communities with two more communities on evacuation notice. "A lot of our First Nations are under threat because of the fires that have consumed a lot of territory in our area, and I'm just asking all of you, my relatives, to be strong and to be brave and to be courageous during this very difficult time," MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a recorded statement published to Facebook. "This is a very, very critical time in our First Nations." Premier Wab Kinew of Manitoba on Wednesday declared a provincewide state of emergency, which will be in effect for 30 days to ensure federal, provincial and local resources can be deployed in a coordinated response. Manitoba has declared a province-wide state of emergency to safely evacuate and shelter 17,000 people - the largest wildfire evacuation in recent memory. To those leaving home: you're not alone. These measures protect you. We'll get through this - together. Wab Kinew (@WabKinew) May 29, 2025 A statement from the provincial government states that evacuation orders have beeb issued for the city of Flin Flon and the First Nations of Pimicikamak and Mathias Colomb. "This is the largest evacuation in many Manitobans' living memory," Kinew said during a press conference. "This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern. But I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period, and we will get through this trying period the way we always do -- by working together. " He said he has spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who agreed to his request for assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces. The military, he said, will be aiding with evacuation flights to the province' capital of Winnipeg.
