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National Post
17 hours ago
- Climate
- National Post
Worsening wildfires prompt more evacuations in northern Manitoba
More people in northern Manitoba were told to leave their homes Saturday, and Saskatchewan's premier warned the number of evacuees in his province will likely climb as wildfires continued to threaten communities and send thick smoke into the air. Article content Article content The roughly 600 residents of Cranberry Portage in northwestern Manitoba were placed under a mandatory evacuation order because fire had knocked out power to the community — a situation expected to last for days. Article content Article content People in a few smaller communities nearby were put on a two-hour evacuation notice after a fire jumped across a highway. Article content Article content An evacuation of Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba, which started earlier in the week, ramped up further on Saturday. Officials were expecting five flights to leave for Winnipeg by the end of the day. Article content 'The wildfire has crossed the main road, and the area remains filled with smoke and ash,' Chief David Monias wrote on Facebook. Article content Manitoba's Indigenous leaders, including Monias, told a news conference on Saturday that hotel rooms in the cities where evacuees are arriving are full, and they called for politicians like Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Wab Kinew to issue a directive to hotel owners to give evacuees priority. Article content Article content Article content In Flin Flon, Man., where the city's 5,000 residents had already been evacuated, an out-of-control fire continued to burn very close to the community. There were no structure fires as of Saturday morning, but officials were worried a shift in the wind could bring flames right into the city.
CNN
a day ago
- Climate
- CNN
Smoke pours into the US as Canada wildfires force province's largest evacuation in ‘living memory'
Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands to flee as dire forecasts for the country's fire season come to fruition. The intensifying blazes are also sending hazardous smoke toward major cities in the United States. The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces have declared monthlong states of emergency, and much of Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Ontario, are at 'extreme' risk of wildfires on Friday — the highest level on Environment Canada's fire risk scale. There are just over 170 wildfires burning across Canada as of Thursday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center, about half of them uncontrolled. The country raised its National Preparedness Level to 5 of 5 on Thursday, unusually high for this early in the fire season. Last year, Canada didn't reach that level until July 15. In Manitoba, around 17,000 people are under evacuation orders, including in the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, according to CNN's Canadian news partner CBC News. 'Pray for rain,' Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said during a news briefing Friday, adding that 'in the absence of that, the past few days have been very challenging, and that may continue.' He said Saturday will be 'challenging' as the wind is projected shift to 'some unhelpful direction,' that could heighten threats for some areas. Earlier in the week, Kinew called the wildfire 'a moment of fear and uncertainty' and 'a moment of concern,' as he acknowledged the largest evacuation order 'in most people's living memory.' The Canadian Armed Forces have deployed aircraft to evacuate residents from Pimicikamak Cree Nation and Mathias Colomb First Nation, Canadian Joint Operations Command said on X Friday. A potentially dire situation was unfolding Friday in Flin Flon, a community of about 5,000 people. A wind shift was threatening to drive flames into the city, with Mayor George Fontaine telling CBC: 'It's got a straight path into here.' Most residents have already evacuated and those remaining have been told to leave. 'Everybody has to be gone, and then we're going to have to just see what nature does,' Fontaine said. 'Everyone's really fearful.' Around 2,000 residents were stranded in Pukatawagan, Manitoba, also known as Mathias Colomb, after thick smoke from the encroaching fire shut down its airport at around 6:30 p.m. CDT Thursday, the First Nations chief Gordie Bear told CBC. 'We're getting desperate now. It's getting rougher,' Bear said. Children and elders were among the community members still trying to evacuate, Pukatawagan resident Venessa Hart told CBC Thursday evening. 'How they're going to get us out now?' Hart said. 'I'm scared. I'm really scared. My anxiety is through the roof.' Wildfires have also forced thousands of evacuations in neighboring Saskatchewan, and Premier Scott Moe declared a provincial emergency Thursday. It followed calls from First Nations leaders to take that step, noting 'deep concerns' over resources to battle the fires. 'It's a very serious situation that we're faced with in Saskatchewan. We do need some rainfall and we need that sooner rather than later,' Moe said at a news conference. Climate change is leading to an increase in wildfire risk days, as well as more frequent and larger fires that exhibit more extreme wildfire behavior. Canada had its worst wildfire season on record in 2023, when extreme heat and drought helped propel blazes that burned more than 45 million acres. Last year's fire season was Canada's second-worst of the century. Some of those blazes also sent thick, hazardous smoke into US cities. This year, wildfires have burned more than 1.58 million acres in Canada, about 40% above the 10-year average for this point in the year. Nearly 90% of the acreage burned has been in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, though there are many ongoing blazes in British Columbia and Alberta as well, where some evacuations are underway. Eight firefighters were trapped near Chipewyan Lake in northern Alberta Thursday as fires became more volatile amid hot, dry conditions and strong, shifting winds, CBC reported. In Saskatchewan, about 250,000 acres have burned during each of the past two days. About 430,000 acres—an area twice the size of New York City—have burned in Manitoba since Sunday alone. Manitoba has already seen about four times the average acres burned for this time of year, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. The smoke plume from fires in the region covered over half a million square miles on Thursday, which is double the size of Texas. The wildfires have erupted during an unusually hot period for the regions, with temperatures running as much as 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Both provinces have also seen dry conditions this spring, including some moderate levels of drought. Hazardous smoke streaming across the border Computer models show smoke from the western Canadian blazes will continue to spread into the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes throughout the weekend, potentially affecting the cities of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit. The smoke will likely be in the lower to middle levels of the atmosphere, which could decrease visibility and crater air quality in some areas. Authorities in Minnesota issued an air quality alert for the northern half of the state, warning that fine particle levels are expected to reach 'a level considered unhealthy for everyone.' A similar alert is in effect throughout Michigan and Wisconsin for Friday into Saturday morning. Minnesota's Arrowhead region had the poorest air quality in the nation on Friday morning due to the smoke. Some of the mid-and-low-level smoke could linger through the weekend in parts of the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service. High-level smoke – which doesn't affect air quality – has spread across the Northern Plains, shielding the sun slightly and potentially creating vibrant sunrises and sunsets. More smoky days could be ahead for millions this summer. Canada's seasonal wildfire forecast called for well above-average blazes, and much of the western US, too, will have above-normal wildfire potential by July, according to National Interagency Fire Center forecasts.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'We take care of each other': Pimicikamak residents pitch in as road opens for wildfire evacuees
The intersection of Highway 6 and PR 373 is about a six-hour drive from Winnipeg, on a section of the major road that runs parallel to the Hudson Bay Railway in Manitoba's north. A sign advising travellers the provincial road was closed could be seen on one side of the rail tracks crossing it Friday afternoon. On the other, a white pickup truck greeted vehicles with its own sign: "Food and water for evacuees." "The road is open and we figured the people would be hungry, stressed out," said Darryl McIvor. He and his family were handing out sandwiches and chips to people coming out of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake. "It's our people and we have to look after each other." Around 1,000 Pimicikamak residents were still in the northern Manitoba First Nation as of Friday morning, three days after the community was ordered to evacuate because of a nearby wildfire. PR 373 — the only road connecting Pimicikamak and nearby Norway House to the rest of Manitoba — was temporarily opened to drivers exiting those communities later that day. Brenda Monias was on her way from Pimicikamak to Thompson, where her daughter lives. The drive "was smoky," Monias said. "There's still some hot spots. Still a bit of fire here and there on the side of the road." The blaze near Pimicikamak was about 3,290 hectares and out of control as of the province's latest fire bulletin Friday afternoon. More than 6,000 residents were told to head to Norway House even though that community was only expecting 1,000 evacuees 'Very chaotic' Pimicikamak Chief David Monias told CBC News Friday afternoon 3,332 people had been waiting in Norway House to be flown out that morning. "We had about 11 to 12 Hercules planes that were picking up the people," Monias said, though he added he was still waiting for information from the Canadian Armed Forces as to how many residents were flown out. "We have a co-ordinator there and she doesn't even have time to talk to us because it's very chaotic, because they're trying to get everybody out." Monias had told CBC that morning residents decided to return to the community in spite of the evacuation order out of frustration, amid long waits for ferries and unavailable airlifts. PR 373 was open to evacuees until 8 p.m. Those leaving from Norway House had to be across the ferry that crosses the Nelson River at the community's entrance by service cutoff at 7 p.m. Thelma Muskego was at the junction with Highway 6 to pick up her son, who was coming down the road from Norway House with Muskego's brother. She said she'd been stranded in Thompson since Sunday, after Pimicikamak began moving elderly and other vulnerable residents out of the community because of the heavy smoke. "My son didn't want to leave … because we had another fire two years ago and he's kind of like traumatized and scared to go through that again, to drive through," she said. "We had to assure him that was OK." Hanson Richard was heading for Winnipeg. "That's the instruction from our incident team," he said. "Thompson is full. There's evacuations all over, right? Lynn Lake. Now I hear Split Lake." 'One way in, one way out' Premier Wab Kinew said in a news conference Friday the government expected to reach about 17,000 wildfire evacuees in total later that day. "I'm just glad that everybody is doing a great job for us," Richard said. "Our incident team back home. Firefighters, of course, doing an awesome job … and a special shout-out to Norway House." Richard said when something like the wildfire happens, they're all "one big family." "We take care of each other," he said. "We only have one highway to share. Only one way in, one way out." Darryl McIvor said he figured he'd come to the junction to see people, including family, as they travelled by while also helping out. McIvor said he may be back out there another time to lend other evacuees a hand — even after they're given the go-ahead to return home. "It'll be a relief to come back but, you know, people still get stressed out when they leave home," he said. Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
'We take care of each other': Pimicikamak residents pitch in as road opens for wildfire evacuees
The intersection of Highway 6 and PR 373 is about a six-hour drive from Winnipeg, on a section of the major road that runs parallel to the Hudson Bay Railway in Manitoba's north. A sign advising travellers the provincial road was closed could be seen on one side of the rail tracks crossing it Friday afternoon. On the other, a white pickup truck greeted vehicles with its own sign: "Food and water for evacuees." "The road is open and we figured the people would be hungry, stressed out," said Darryl McIvor. He and his family were handing out sandwiches and chips to people coming out of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake. "It's our people and we have to look after each other." Around 1,000 Pimicikamak residents were still in the northern Manitoba First Nation as of Friday morning, three days after the community was ordered to evacuate because of a nearby wildfire. PR 373 — the only road connecting Pimicikamak and nearby Norway House to the rest of Manitoba — was temporarily opened to drivers exiting those communities later that day. Brenda Monias was on her way from Pimicikamak to Thompson, where her daughter lives. The drive "was smoky," Monias said. "There's still some hot spots. Still a bit of fire here and there on the side of the road." The blaze near Pimicikamak was about 3,290 hectares and out of control as of the province's latest fire bulletin Friday afternoon. More than 6,000 residents were told to head to Norway House even though that community was only expecting 1,000 evacuees 'Very chaotic' Pimicikamak Chief David Monias told CBC News Friday afternoon 3,332 people had been waiting in Norway House to be flown out that morning. "We had about 11 to 12 Hercules planes that were picking up the people," Monias said, though he added he was still waiting for information from the Canadian Armed Forces as to how many residents were flown out. "We have a co-ordinator there and she doesn't even have time to talk to us because it's very chaotic, because they're trying to get everybody out." Monias had told CBC that morning residents decided to return to the community in spite of the evacuation order out of frustration, amid long waits for ferries and unavailable airlifts. PR 373 was open to evacuees until 8 p.m. Those leaving from Norway House had to be across the ferry that crosses the Nelson River at the community's entrance by service cutoff at 7 p.m. Thelma Muskego was at the junction with Highway 6 to pick up her son, who was coming down the road from Norway House with Muskego's brother. She said she'd been stranded in Thompson since Sunday, after Pimicikamak began moving elderly and other vulnerable residents out of the community because of the heavy smoke. "My son didn't want to leave … because we had another fire two years ago and he's kind of like traumatized and scared to go through that again, to drive through," she said. "We had to assure him that was OK." Hanson Richard was heading for Winnipeg. "That's the instruction from our incident team," he said. "Thompson is full. There's evacuations all over, right? Lynn Lake. Now I hear Split Lake." 'One way in, one way out' Premier Wab Kinew said in a news conference Friday the government expected to reach about 17,000 wildfire evacuees in total later that day. "I'm just glad that everybody is doing a great job for us," Richard said. "Our incident team back home. Firefighters, of course, doing an awesome job … and a special shout-out to Norway House." Richard said when something like the wildfire happens, they're all "one big family." "We take care of each other," he said. "We only have one highway to share. Only one way in, one way out." Darryl McIvor said he figured he'd come to the junction to see people, including family, as they travelled by while also helping out. McIvor said he may be back out there another time to lend other evacuees a hand — even after they're given the go-ahead to return home. "It'll be a relief to come back but, you know, people still get stressed out when they leave home," he said.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Climate
- Globe and Mail
Wildfires force thousands to flee homes in Western Canada
Wildfires across Western Canada have forced thousands of people from their homes, as dry, warm and windy temperatures intensified new flares Friday, causing Manitoba to ask for international help. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are under provincewide states of emergency for the next month, while evacuations have also been ordered in large parts of Alberta and British Columbia. There were more than 180 active wildfires across the country Friday evening, with 23 of those being new and at least 102 considered out of control. The situation this week has been so severe that Manitoba was forced to call upon the Canadian Armed Forces to rescue residents from several communities. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew on Friday requested more equipment and personnel from international jurisdictions, including helicopters from the United States and Colombia. The province has already been receiving firefighters from New Brunswick, Alberta, B.C. and Prince Edward Island. 'We are doing everything that we can to preserve life,' Mr. Kinew told reporters in Winnipeg, where the vast majority of more than 17,000 evacuees are being housed in arenas and soccer fields converted into shelters. 'As we head into the weekend, please pray for rain. We haven't seen rain in the forecast yet.' Two more areas in Manitoba – around Bakers Narrows in the north and Bissett in the east – were ordered to evacuate Friday. Also in the northern region, Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Cross Lake, Norway House and Mathias Colomb First Nation in Pukatawagan are also vacating their properties this week. Mr. Kinew said final evacuations in Flin Flon, Man., where roughly 5,000 people live, occurred Friday, with mostly firefighters left behind. That blaze began Monday just across the provincial border in the Saskatchewan town of Creighton. Keith Selma left all of his belongings behind in Flin Flon, save for some books, juice, the clothes he wore and a few extra shirts. 'You just have no idea how exhausting this is,' he said by phone Friday from his uncle's home in Portage la Prairie near Winnipeg, where he'd flown with his cat and dog. 'I would never wish this kind of stress on anyone. All I can think about, dream about really, is that orange-red sky.' Jackie Castel was among more than 2,300 people from Mathias Colomb who fled her home. After flying roughly 700 kilometres to Winnipeg on a military plane with her daughter and son, she breathed a sigh of relief Friday afternoon outside a Best Western hotel. 'My body is trying to getting used to the air here, so much better than back home,' she said, where the smoke became so thick 'you could taste it in your mouth.' Ms. Castel was able to leave, but Mathias Colomb Chief Gordie Bear said many others in the remote community are still stranded. 'The helicopters are too slow and too small,' he said. 'Every hour we wait puts lives at risk. We need more help, especially from the military.' There are 25 active wildfires in Manitoba, with 106 in total this year. Before this week, the 20-year average for the region was 78 annual fires. In Saskatchewan, 15 fires burned Friday, seven of which were uncontained. The province has recorded 207 wildfires this year – well over its five-year annual average of 125. Premier Scott Moe has ordered evacuations for the communities around Pelican Narrows, Hall Lake, Brabant Lake, Canoe Lake, Lower Fishing Lake, Piprell Lake, East Trout Lake, Little Bear Lake, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Whiteswan Bay. Other areas have also been told to be ready to flee at a moment's notice this weekend. In Prince Albert, Sask., Weldon McCallum recalls consoling his young daughter as flames nearly destroyed his home in the city's north end. 'It's pretty hard to contain myself from crying with her, but I keep telling my daughter and my family not to lose hope.' Mr. McCallum, who is helping co-ordinate Saskatchewan's evacuation efforts for Peter Ballantyne, is pleading for more help. 'We need support in terms of fire protection,' he said. 'I'm really praying that we can get more.' Alexandria Jones at the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said wildfires have been moving faster and spreading quicker this year. 'They're just more severe all around,' she said. The leading cause of wildfires is human activity, she added. B.C. firefighters told investigators they feared deaths were 'inevitable' during 2023 wildfire season In B.C., 60 wildfires were burning Friday, with more than half out of control – mostly in the northeast. One fire in the Peace River Regional District quadrupled in size within a single day, as rural communities in the region bordering Alberta evacuated. Air-quality alerts warning about smoke were issued in most of Alberta. The province was contending with at least 50 active fires Friday, including 29 deemed out of control. Evacuations are taking place near Chipewyan Lake, Red Earth Creek, Loon Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake. Non-essential workers at the Christina Lake facility, about 150 kilometres south of Fort McMurray, have also been told to leave the oil-production site by MEG Energy.
