Latest news with #RuralMunicipality
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
Wildfires burning across central Canada force additional evacuation orders and more shelters to open
FLIN FLON, Manitoba (AP) — Roughly 17,000 residents in the Canadian province of Manitoba have been evacuated because of nearly two dozen active wildfires, officials said Saturday. More than 5,000 of those are from Flin Flon, where there is no rain in the immediate forecast. There have been no structure fires in the city located nearly 645 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg as of Saturday morning, but officials worry that a change in wind direction could bring the fire into town. Manitoba declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as the fires burning from the northwest to the southeast forced evacuations in several communities in the province directly north of the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Smoke from the fires is being pushed south into some parts of the U.S., worsening air quality. Thousands have also been affected by wildfires in Saskatchewan and Alberta, with 1,300 people in the community of Swan Hills northwest of Edmonton forced from their homes. In northern Manitoba, fire knocked out power to the community of Cranberry Portage, forcing a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for about 600 residents. People living in smaller nearby communities were told to prepare to evacuate after a fire jumped a highway. 'Please start getting ready and making plans to stay with family and friends as accommodations are extremely limited,' Lori Forbes, the emergency coordinator for the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, posted on social media. Evacuation centers have opened across the province for those fleeing the fires, including one as far south as Winkler, Manitoba, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the U.S. border. Evacuations that started earlier in the week for Pimicikamak Cree Nation ramped up Saturday, when five flights were expected to take residents to Winnipeg. 'The wildfire has crossed the main road, and the area remains filled with smoke and ash,' Chief David Monias wrote on social media. Winnipeg has opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and convention-goers. The fire menacing Flin Flon began Monday near Creighton, Saskatchewan, and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. Crews have struggled to contain it. Water bombers have been intermittently grounded due to heavy smoke and a drone incursion. The 1,200 or so residents of Creighton have also been ordered out, many of whom have gone to nearby Nipawin, Saskatchewan. In total, more than 8,000 people have fled wildfires in Saskatchewan. Canada's wildfire season runs from May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘I feel that we didn't have a voice': St. Andrews residents speak out against development project
A group of residents in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews is voicing opposition to a gated community of duplexes planned for a 20-acre swath of land. Jason Sandilands, a resident of the RM, said the land was zoned for 11 lots, but the proposed development would far exceed that. 'They want to push 76 lots onto it, which causes all types of questions and concerns,' he said. Sandilands was among dozens of residents who shared their concerns at a council meeting earlier this month. They argued 38 duplexes would put a strain on water supply, existing infrastructure, community services and would go against residential zoning requirements. Despite the concerns, Sandilands said those objections fell on deaf ears as council approved the subdivision. 'I feel that we didn't have a voice at the council meeting, and we feel that diplomacy should be taken quite seriously,' he said. Mayor Joy Sul voted in favour of the development to grow St. Andrews' population, keep taxes from increasing, and address the needs of aging residents. 'People are looking for smaller lots. You're getting older, you can't maintain your yard. This is perfect,' said Sul. She said many of the issues residents brought up will be addressed as the project moves forward. 'There was a long list of conditions placed on the developer who will have to go through Red River Planning (District), the province,' said Sul. 'He has to meet all the conditions before he can proceed.' Sandilands said he is not against developing the land into housing, but he's worried this plan could set a precedent. 'There is four parcels of land here and this is just the one parcel that we're talking about,' he said. Residents are now gathering signatures for a petition being sent to the province and Red River Planning District board.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Residents evacuated as wildfire threatens RM of Alexander for 2nd time in recent weeks
Social Sharing Some residents of a community in eastern Manitoba were asked to leave their property out of concerns a nearby wildfire may threaten their homes should winds turn their way. People living in the Rural Municipality of Alexander between Hill Road and the Bird River bridge were advised to evacuate Monday afternoon after a fire began north of the Bird River area. Chief administrative officer Gisele Smith said the number of people who may have had to evacuate is currently unknown. "There are a lot of cottages in that area," she said. "I was told that it wasn't going to affect people, residents or properties unless the wind turned, and so then that's where the concern is. And there's heavy smoke right now." The evacuation zone includes Ridge Road, Pioneer Drive, Beaver Drive, Moose Row and the Southland Church Bible Camp. Residents are being asked to go to a reception centre in the Great Falls community hall. Cottagers who registered for the RM's emergency alert system will get notifications about the evacuation, Smith said. The province is also closing Highway 314 through Nopiming Provincial Park bordering the RM to the northeast amid a separate fire. The government said Monday afternoon the fire is currently about 400 hectares and that crews are working on it. The province said it's recommended people in the cottage subdivisions in Bird River and nearby Tanco mine to evacuate. This is the second fire the RM of Alexander has had to deal with in recent weeks. People in Traverse Bay were forced out of their homes after a fire ravaged through hectares of Crown land in late April. Bob Kozyra said he was heading up to his cottage when he saw the fire, and decided to turn around out of concerns he could end up stranded. "The smoke, you could smell it, you could hear the crackling of the flames and you can literally watch the fire going across and probably within a quarter of a kilometre from the road," he said.
CBC
04-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Turbine components for Eastern Kings wind farm expansion will start arriving this spring
Social Sharing The next few months will see some massive parts moving through eastern P.E.I. as the province works to put the finishing touches on a wind farm expansion. Starting in early May, components for seven new turbines destined for the Rural Municipality of Eastern Kings will begin to arrive by ship. The first vessel will arrive at port in Georgetown carrying tower sections that weigh 60-80 tonnes each. Then in early June, a second ship is due that will be carrying the 200-foot turbine blades. "We've done this before in P.E.I. in terms of managing inland transportation of large turbines, but this will be the biggest [we've] managed to date," said Spencer Long, the wind farm project manager with the P.E.I. Energy Corporation. "The logistics of moving 200-foot blades around with the specialized trailers… everything is slow moving and carefully organized and handled, but a challenge nonetheless." Long said the deeper water at Georgetown's wharf means it's more accommodating for the massive ships, rather than using the much closer port in Souris. Access roads, crane pads and the foundations for the turbines were all finished last year, so the province expects the turbines to be completed by this fall. Ballooning budget, and some controversies The expansion has been in the works since 2018 and was originally estimated to cost between $50 million and $60 million. That budget has since ballooned to $86 million, with Long citing the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine. The construction project also hasn't been without controversy. Officials halted work last July after about a hectare of wetland was discovered during the construction of an access road to the wind farm's development site. Provincial officials determined that rerouting the road would have damaged other wetlands and meant the loss of more forest. Instead, the province moved ahead with the original route but provided about $151,000 to a wetland compensation fund, something that's allowed under P.E.I.'s wetland policy if the government determines a loss can't be prevented. Before that, the government was locked in a four-year battle with the Rural Municipality of Eastern Kings over the wind farm's expansion, after the local council initially voted it down. The protracted negotiations eventually led to the province making regulatory changes under the Renewable Energy Act to give itself "clear authority" to issue permits for solar and wind farms, including within municipal boundaries. For its project manager, though, the wind farm expansion is a worthwhile step in making P.E.I. a larger player in renewable energy. Long, who's worked on the project since its beginning, said seeing the components begin to move across Kings County in the coming months will be a proud moment. "I will probably get emotional to some degree, just from a personal standpoint," he said. "It's important to be resilient and generate our own electricity in a world with so many unknowns that change so quickly."
