Latest news with #Stuartburn
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
‘This is a Godsend to us': Southern Manitoba community gets grant to reduce wildfire threat
Fighting fire with fire—that's what a group of residents in the RM of Stuartburn is planning to do to protect their community from wildfire. New funding will help them do it. On Tuesday, the Stuartburn Prescribed Burn Association along with the RM of Stuartburn was handed $116,500 through Intact Insurance's Municipal Climate Resiliency Grant. 'It is such a blessing to get that money,' said Laura Reeves, the vice-president of the association. The group, made up of volunteers, aims to stop wildfires before they can even begin. To do that, they plan to conduct prescribed burns to remove dead or dried vegetation and brush. 'The idea is that we will be reducing the fuel load, if not eliminating it, so there will be nothing for a wildfire to catch,' Reeves said. She said the grant money from Intact will fully equip the prescribed burn team with gear and training. This includes the purchase of a UTV, fire skid, water tank and sprayer, along with personal protective equipment for a 12-member team. 'Everything you could possibly need,' said Reeves. The plan will be to conduct at least five prescribed burns across 100 acres. Stuartburn is the only municipality in Manitoba to receive the grant, which was awarded to just 19 communities across Canada. 'This is a Godsend to us,' said area-Reeve Michelle Gawronsky. 'When we look around at the rest of the province, we look around at other provinces across the country, and the wildfires that are destroying so much of our lands, the RM of Stuartburn has lived through that.' Gawronsky said in 2012 a major fire tore through the community, destroying a bridge and two homes. Just a few months ago, hundreds of residents in Stuartburn's neighbouring municipality of Piney were forced to flee due to an out-of-control blaze. It was the beginning of what has become the worst wildfire season in the last 30 years for Manitoba. Gawronsky believes initiatives like this could make all the difference for municipalities facing wildfire threats. 'I absolutely believe that this is the future, the way municipalities are going to have to move forward in having the fire protection that we are going to need,' she said. Gawronsky said an official launch for the Stuartburn Prescribed Burn Association is being planned in September.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Reeve of Man. community at risk from wildfires lauds fire prevention donation
Social Sharing A rural municipality in southeast Manitoba that's frequently at risk from wildfires has received funding for a community-led initiative to conduct controlled burns aimed at fire prevention. Tuesday's announcement of a $116,000 grant from insurance company Intact Financial to pay for equipment and volunteer training to conduct prescribed burns will have a lasting impact on Stuartburn, about 100 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, Reeve Michelle Gawronsky said. "The brush has continued to grow and die off every year, and there's been nothing to clean it up," Gawronsky said. "We certainly don't want to have our community at risk again." The grant from Intact is the largest of its kind for Manitoba and will assist with the operation of Stuartburn Prescribed Burn Association, which is made up of concerned local residents. They just want to keep the community safe, Gawronsky said. "They care about the farms and the lands around us, and wildlife, and people's homes, and people's lives." "It breaks my heart to know that people are suffering so badly," she said. "Now we have a proactive way with local citizens in the province of Manitoba to be able to move this [initiative] forward." The reeve told her own story of the devastating fire that forced the Stuartburn community of Vita to evacuate in 2012. "I got a call from my son ... saying: 'Mom, what do you want from the house?' And I said: 'What do you mean?' "And he said: 'There's a fire coming, we're not going to save the town.'" "And when you're sitting 400 kilometres away and you're trying to think of what's most important in your home, that feeling was devastating to me." A snowstorm followed the fire the next day and helped firefighters snuff it out before homes were destroyed. A bridge, vehicles and farmland suffered the most damage. Still, the experience stayed with Gawronsky. The Stuartburn funding is part of Intact's Municipal Climate Resiliency Grants program, which is slated to donate $3.1 million to 19 communities across Canada. Stuartburn plans to hold a meeting for people to learn more about the initiative at its community centre on Sept. 18.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Reeve of Man. community at risk from wildfires lauds funding donation for prevention
A southeast Manitoba rural municipality frequently at risk from wildfires has received funding for a community-led initiative to conduct controlled burns aimed at stopping fires in their tracks. RM of Stuartburn Reeve Michelle Gawronsky said Tuesday's announcement of a $116,000 grant from Intact Financial to pay for equipment and volunteer training to conduct prescribed burns will have a lasting impact. "The brush has continued to grow and die off every year, and there's been nothing to clean it up," said Gawronsky. "We were very quick to put a burn-ban on, especially seeing what other municipalities were having to live through. Like I say, we've been there, done that, and we certainly don't want to have our community at risk again," she said. The grant from Intact is a first of its kind for Manitoba and will assist with the operation of Stuartburn Prescribed Burn Association, which is made up of concerned local residents. They just want to keep the community safe, said Gawronsky. "Because they care about the farms and the lands around us, and wildlife, and people's homes, and people's lives," said Gawronsky. Intact is giving out $3.1 million to 19 communities across Canada through its Municipal Climate Resiliency Grants program. Stuartburn administrators invited officials from Intact, provincial politicians, neighbouring mayors and reeves and people from the community to an official announcement of the funding on Tuesday afternoon.
CTV News
12-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Feasibility study to look at building massive retention pond in Manitoba community
CTV's Jon Hendricks has more on the RM of Stuartburn's plans to reduce flooding in the region. A Manitoba community is hopeful that a new plan to keep water at bay will help to prevent springtime flooding in the area. 'For many, many years, as far back as I can remember, water has been coming from the east side,' said Michelle Gawronsky, reeve of the RM of Stuartburn. 'We've got Horseshoe Lake on the east side of the municipality, and it has caused major water problems for many years now.' Officials call the RM of Stuartburn the aquifer for the province, as the community deals with a high water table, as well as major flooding in non-drought years. 'Basements are almost all drowned year round,' said resident George Thibodeau. However, this may not be an issue for much longer. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has given the community a $70,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study on building a massive retention pond to store and control the water that pours through the region every year. 'We are looking at building one of the biggest reservoirs, if not the biggest reservoir that the province of Manitoba is going to have,' Gawronsky said. 'We will take the water, we'll have control of the water and we can release it.' The exact cost of the project is not known as of yet, but it's expected to cost millions. Gawronsky believes it is essential work to keep excess water out of her community -- and potentially share it with drought prone areas to the west. 'This is a project that is, well, 20 years old,' she said. 'People have been trying to figure out what to do with it and how to solve it. well, let's build a hole. let's hold the water.' The feasibility study is expected to take roughly a year to complete.
