Latest news with #NopimingProvincialPark
CBC
01-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
RM of Alexander partially lifts evacuation order in Bird River
Social Sharing The Rural Municipality of Alexander is partially lifting an evacuation order triggered by a wildfire that's been active in eastern Manitoba for more than 20 days. The RM said in an update Sunday it was lifting the order for areas on Provincial Road 315 going north to the intersection of Hill Drive, in Bird River. The fire at Nopiming Provincial Park, on Manitoba's east side, was 185,400 hectares in size and about one kilometre from Bird River, as of the province's latest fire bulletin Saturday. People living in the area between Hill Road and the Bird River bridge to the west were told to evacuate on May 12, as winds turned toward them. The RM said the imminent risk of danger to life and properties in the area has diminished. The area where the evacuation order is lifted covers Ledin Road, Cat Tail Drive, Tagasen Boulevard, Hugh Road, Pioneer Drive, Ridge Road, Otter Drive, Crane Drive, Oiseau River Road, Hill Drive and all areas south of the bridge. The RM partially lifted evacuation orders on areas southwest of Ledin Road on Wednesday, the same day the province declared a state of emergency because of wildfires in the province's north and east. Bird River residents must be registered with the Connect emergency alert system and be on a two-hour evacuation notice to be allowed to return, the RM said. A new barrier will be placed just beyond Hill Drive.
CBC
26-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Widespread wildfire smoke prompts air quality alerts in Manitoba
Smoke from wildfires is causing poor air quality and reduced visibility in parts of Manitoba, prompting alerts from Environment Canada. Warm and dry conditions are expected through the week, continuing the conditions that fuel wildfires, the weather agency's forecast says. However, the dangerously-high winds are not expected. On the flipside, though, the lighter winds mean the smoke will linger for a prolonged period. An air quality warning has been issued for southeast Manitoba, stretching from Manigotagan on the east side of Lake Winnipeg south to East Braintree, and from about 40 kilometres east of Winnipeg to the Ontario border. It includes: Bissett. Falcon Lake and West Hawk Lake. Powerview-Pine Falls. Seven Sisters Falls. Nopiming Provincial Park. Pointe du Bois. Rural municipality of Alexander. RM of Lac Du Bonnet. RM of Reynolds. Ste. Rita. Hadashville. Rennie. RM of Victoria Beach. RM of Whitemouth, including Elma. Shoal Lake First Nations. The fire in Nopiming Provincial Park, the largest of 15 wildfires currently burning in the province, remains listed as out of control at 115,100 hectares, according to Manitoba's FireView map. Environment Canada urges people to limit time outdoors and to consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor activities and events. Mild and common symptoms from poor air quality involve eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a moderate cough. More serious symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. When indoors, keep windows and doors closed as much as possible. If you must spend time outdoors, a well-fitting respirator-type mask (N95 or equivalent) can reduce exposure to the fine particles in the smoke, the weather agency says. A special air quality statement covers much of northern Manitoba, from the tip of Lake Winnipeg to the Nunavut border and across to the Saskatchewan border. The only northern section not covered by the statement is the northeast corner, including Churchill, Gillam, Samattawa and the Island Lake communities. Environment Canada issued the same health warnings for the regions under the air quality statement as those under the warning.
CBC
25-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Pointe du Bois reopens after 'more progress' controlling wildfires around Whiteshell
A section in the northwest corner of Whiteshell Provincial Park has reopened to the public after the province says there has been "more progress" in battling out-of-control wildfires. Permanent residents, cottagers, commercial operators and visitors are allowed back into Pointe du Bois as of Sunday morning, the province said in its latest fire bulletin. The area, roughly 120 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, had been under a mandatory evacuation order for almost two weeks after extreme fire conditions from out-of-control wildfires encroaching on the park forced its closure to the public. The province reopened the first pockets of the Whiteshell on Thursday, including Sylvia Lake, Eleanor Lake, Dorothy Lake, Otter Falls, Barrier Bay, Nutimik Lake and Betula Lake on the west side of the park. Those returning to the park "must be prepared to evacuate with little notice," the bulletin said. Manitoba Parks says "more progress has been made" to control the blazes, but the wildfires are still large, complex and expected to remain active. Weather forecasts are also not favourable with warm, dry conditions and no rain in the week ahead, the province said. "Many Manitobans are eager to return to the parks that remain closed, but public safety remains the top priority," the bulletin said. As of Friday, the largest fire encroaching on the park stretches over 101,000 hectares north of the Whiteshell in Nopiming Provincial Park. A wildfire is also burning at the Manitoba-Ontario border, near Ingolf, reaching a total 32,000 hectares in size, with about 1,650 hectares on the Manitoba side as of Friday. "Restrictions and closures remain in place for everyone's safety and allows fire crews and emergency responders space to do their work," the province said. The majority of the Whiteshell remains under a mandatory evacuation order. The campgrounds in the provincial park remain closed to limit overnight guests, hiking trails are closed and backcountry travel is prohibited. The province is asking for patience and cooperation as the situation continues to unfold.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Nopiming fire leaves herd of endangered caribou at risk
Social Sharing The southernmost herd of endangered woodland caribou in Manitoba might not be able to recover from wildfire-caused habitat and population losses, experts say. Fire burn patterns and maps suggest a fire that has ravaged more than 100,000 hectares in and west of Nopiming Provincial Park in eastern Manitoba has destroyed a substantial part of the habitat of the Owl-Flintstone caribou herd. Boreal woodland caribou are classified as threatened under the Manitoba Endangered Species Act. There are an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 in the province. Daniel Dupont, an ecologist and biology professor at St. Boniface University, is worried that last week's inferno will weaken the woodland caribou population in several ways. "The caribou have just lost the habitat where their females give birth from mid-May to June. This is a vulnerable period for caribou, as the females are pregnant," Dupont said in French. "The fires will have an impact." The Nopiming area is home to between 40 and 60 woodland caribou, he said. Although it's too early to know the exact death toll, Dupont says he already knows the species will be affected over the long term. "They are very sensitive to changes in their habitats," he said in French. Woodland caribou need a mature forest with decades of vegetation growth to live and reproduce, he says. Human activity contributes to problems Fires are necessary for forest renewal in the region, but the scale of the blazes in Nopiming Park this year is abnormal, Dupont says. "In recent decades, humans have been very good at putting out fires. As a result, we have large tracts of mature forest that can create these large, hard-to-control fires," Dupont explained in French. Climate change is also a factor, he says. Dupont estimates that two-thirds of caribou habitat must remain intact after fires to ensure the health of the boreal forest and allow the animals sufficient room to live and reproduce. Eric Reder, director of the Wilderness Committee Manitoba, a national environmental protection group, says the caribou might never return to the burned lands. "We're really, really concerned that this southern caribou range that we've been talking about protecting for more than 25 years may well be gone." Conservationists have been demanding greater habitat protections for decades. "We worked for a long time to get caribou listed under the Manitoba Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, the big step that caribou need across the country is habitat protection," Reder said. A crisis 25 years in the making Reder is frustrated that a series of Manitoba governments has not taken action to protect woodland caribou, which he describes as a vital part of the boreal forest ecosystem. "We've had a proposal to protect a large section of Nopiming Provincial Park and the area outside of it that the caribou are utilizing. That proposal has been on the books since 2011, and we haven't seen the government act." He blames those in power. "We've really isolated this herd and we've caused this problem that we've been saying was going to happen for at least 20 years." Dupont and Reder both say the lack of funding for caribou research in Manitoba hampers conservation efforts. Without organized tracking and surveillance of herds, scientists are left in the dark, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters. "The Manitoba government has severely underfunded caribou research. We do not have public data about how many animals are collared. These animals are supposed to be protected under federal law and under provincial legislation, and it's not happening. It makes it very hard for us to know exactly where the animals are," Reder said. In its woodland caribou conservation strategy, drawn up 10 years ago, the Manitoba government promised to review and update the provincial recovery strategy for the species in 2025. The province said in an emailed statement that they have not received any reports of boreal caribou mortalities in the Nopiming or Manigotagan River areas since the fire started, but are "aware of the risk to caribou in this area as the fire has impacted a known calving habitat at a time when the caribou could typically give birth." The province also promised to review management actions "once the final extent of the fire and impact to the forest are known." Any future caribou range management plans "will balance the needs of habitat and population protections for boreal caribou with human development across the landscape," a spokesperson said in the statement.
CBC
22-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
'We don't have insurance on the memories': wildfires destroy Manitoba vacation getaways
As clouds of smoke start to lift in parts of the province, Manitobans are learning about the devastation left in the wake of the wildfires. John Podworniak and his family lost their Beresford Lake cabin to the wildfire that's still burning in Nopiming Provincial Park. He said he saw aerial pictures of the blaze online, and had a feeling that his cabin was gone. "I've been told there's nothing left," said Podworniak. "We kind of expected it but it was hard … you're numb from the news." Podworniak built the cabin himself, and shared it with a friend. He spent years enjoying the remote, lakefront property with his children and grandchildren. "Taking the kids up there, they're swimming in the lake. We could go fishing then they'd get on the bow of the boat, they could jump in the lake." Podworniak said he'll miss the remoteness of the cabin, spending time with his family there, and enjoying the quiet time away from the hustle and bustle. "We had insurance on it so we're OK that way. We don't have insurance on the memories." Podworniak hasn't seen the cabin since the wildfire happened, and is waiting until it's safe to visit. He's considering rebuilding, but that will depend on how much damage was done to the property. Richard Loiselle's family cabin was also destroyed by the wildfires at Beresford Lake. It was a log cabin his family had already rebuilt once, after losing a different cabin in the same spot to wildfire in 1983. "My dad's always said a thing can be replaced," said Loiselle. "All of our mementos and all of the memories will stay with us. The pictures will stay because we have copies but the things, the things can be replaced." Loiselle said he was at the cabin a couple weeks before the fire, doing some repairs, and getting ready for another season on the lake. That was the last time he saw it. "My older brother got a call last Friday from the province saying that the fire had gone through (our) subdivision of cabins … all of the cabins in our block, they're all gone." Loiselle isn't sure if he wants to rebuild, it will depend on how badly the area was impacted, and how much of the surrounding forest was burned down. The Manitoba government said around 20 structures have been damaged in Nopiming Provincial Park at Beresford Lake. An additional 19 seasonal sites have burned at Black Lake, and in Nopiming. As of Wednesday afternoon, the province said the fire in the Nopiming area was the largest currently burning in the province, at approximately 101,000 hectares. Mandatory evacuations remain in place for the park, as well as for Pointe du Bois, parts of the RM of Alexander, the Tanco Mine and the Wallace Lake Cottage Association. Available insurance coverage for wildfires Rob de Pruis, the national director for Consumer and Industry Relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said standard home, business or secondary property insurance includes damage caused by fire, including wildfires. "There are dozens of providers in Manitoba offering insurance coverage for these types of events. So whether this is a rental property, a secondary residence like a cabin or cottage, there is readily available insurance coverage for fire." De Pruis said insurance premiums can go up where there is greater risk of wildfire, but premiums can be reduced if you have sprinkler systems installed. "In forested areas, wildfire is one of the biggest risks, so you may pay a little bit more than an area that doesn't have that same type of fire risk coverage," said de Pruis. Memories remain after family cabins destroyed in Manitoba wildfire 4 hours ago Duration 2:11 Family cabins in Nopiming Provincial Park have been destroyed by a massive wildfire. With the park closed and the fire still burning, people are waiting for a chance to see the damage for themselves.
