Latest news with #WabKinew
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfires force 17,000 to evacuate; smoke expected to hit the U.S. this weekend
Smoke from massive wildfires that are burning out of control across western and central Canada, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate, is expected to move south toward the U.S. and reduce air quality across multiple northern states on Friday and Saturday. The fires have pushed the leaders of Canada's Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces to declare states of emergency, while other provinces, including Alberta and Ontario, are facing an 'extreme' risk of wildfires on Friday — the highest level on Environment Canada's risk scale. "The conditions that our northern residents, communities and wildland firefighters are facing today are as severe or quite likely unlike anything we have faced in quite some time, if not ever," Scott Moe, the premier of Saskatchewan, said at a press conference Thursday. Here's what we know. On Thursday, the country raised its National Preparedness Level, which describes the wildfire activity and demand for firefighters and equipment, to a 5, which is unusually high for this time of year. In 2024, Canada did not reach that level until mid-July. Roughly 17,000 residents have been evacuated from the affected areas, including the entire town of Flin Flon, where about 5,000 people live. This is 'the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people's living memory,' Premier Wab Kinew told reporters on Wednesday. 'This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern.' As fires continue to grow throughout the country, residents in Saskatchewan have also been ordered to evacuate. As of Friday morning, a state of emergency is still in effect in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and more than 80 fires have been classified as 'out of control.' The wildfire smoke is expected to travel south on Friday, therefore impacting parts of the U.S. over the weekend. While the smoke is anticipated to blow southward across the central and eastern states by Sunday, an expected wind pattern change from the south on Monday into Tuesday might help improve air quality, according to the Weather Channel. Winds blowing from north to south are likely to push the wildfire smoke into Midwestern states throughout Friday. Air quality alerts are in effect for Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service. The Air Quality Index (AQI), a color-coded numerical scale that helps people understand the health risks and exposures to airborne pollutants at any given time, is predicted to reach a level 3 or 4 in these areas. It's therefore recommended that residents who have conditions like heart disease or asthma keep windows closed and avoid going outside. (You can find your local AQI forecast by entering your ZIP code here.) States that may experience smoky skies throughout Friday also include: Montana North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Iowa Missouri Indiana Ohio The heaviest smoke concentrations are expected to be in: North Dakota South Dakota Minnesota Iowa Around the Great Lakes Moderate smoke could reach Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit by Friday evening. The highest concentrations of the wildfire smoke are expected to be around the Great Lakes. By Saturday, forecasters say that light to moderate smoke may even extend to parts of the East Coast, although it's uncertain whether it will be enough smoke to reduce air quality. Wildfire smoke is mostly made up of microscopic particulate matter with elements like acids, chemicals, metals, soil and dust from whatever the fire is burning, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When inhaled, these elements can go deep inside a person's lungs and bloodstream, and research has proven that this inhalation from wildfire smoke is more dangerous to humans than pollution from other sources. Small particles of the smoke could stay in the air and continue moving throughout the area even weeks after the fires go out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that wildfire smoke can affect people immediately, causing physical reactions like wheezing, asthma attacks and chest pain. Canada had its worst wildfire season on record in June 2023, when more than 45 million acres burned. The previous record was set in 1995, when 17.5 million acres burned. Tens of thousands of Canadians were displaced for months as historically poor air quality drifted south into the U.S. The smoke from the Canadian wildfires engulfed the East Coast in an unusual, orange, low-visibility haze. By the end of 2023, Canada had experienced more than 6,000 wildfires. In June alone, more land burned in southern Quebec than in the previous 20 years combined. 'There's no question, extreme weather, record high temperatures and dry conditions caused by climate change intensified this year's wildfire crisis,' Jonathan Boucher, a Canadian Forest Services scientist, told Natural Resources Canada in December 2024.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flin Flon, Man., virtually deserted, thousands more evacuees expected as fires rage
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says thousands more evacuees are expected and the city of Flin Flon is virtually deserted as wildfires continue to rage in his province. Kinew told a Friday news conference that the mayor, councillors, health-care staff and other officials have had to depart Flin Flon. "The only folks remaining on the ground are firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP, who are there to battle the blaze," Kinew said. "We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community." He added, "Pray for rain." The evacuees are among 17,000 people reported so far to be out of their homes due to a number of wildfires burning in remote regions from Manitoba's northwest to the southeast. Kinew said as the fires grow, thousands more evacuees can be expected and that communities like Winnipeg, Thompson and The Pas have already stepped up to help provide food and shelter. He said he spoke with some evacuees in Winnipeg. "(It's) very scary, very tiring, long days for people who've been on the road and in the air to find their way to safety," he said. Kinew said more outside help has arrived, including 125 firefighters from the United States. He said Canadian Armed Forces personnel are flying out evacuees from the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, north of Flin Flon. He said the airport near Mathias Colomb, also known as Pukatawagan, has not been damaged by the fire. Prime Minister Mark Carney convened the incident response group on Friday to address the wildfire situation in Western Canada and elsewhere in the country. The group, consisting of senior ministers and officials, was briefed on the federal government's efforts to support affected communities, including the evacuation at Mathias Colomb, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement Friday evening. "The prime minister has been in close contact with the premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan," the statement said. "Various arms of the federal government are working with premiers and the Canadian Armed Forces. All orders of government are engaged, including with Indigenous leadership." However, the head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the situation is becoming dire and they are being kept in the dark on what's to be done. 'Nobody is communicating with us. Nobody is communicating with our leadership,' Grand Chief Kyra Wilson told a news conference in Winnipeg earlier Friday. 'We have people that are waiting to be evacuated. She said communities are asking for firefighting equipment, including water pumps and hoses, but getting only vague assurances that it's on the way. 'We have communities that have no electricity,' she added. 'They have no water. They're running out of fuel, running out food.' In an emailed statement, the office of National Defence Minister David McGuinty said flights and crews are on scene to get everyone out as quickly as possible. 'RCAF aircraft departed Winnipeg and Trenton this morning to conduct air evacuation,' said the statement. 'The CAF is also deploying liaison and co-ordination personnel to support the local incident command post, including assistance with airstrip deconfliction and management to ensure the safe and efficient flow of evacuation flights.' Earlier Friday, Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said fierce winds were threatening to breach city limits and begin burning structures in the city of 5,000, located 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. All residents, along with 1,000 more in the surrounding area, have had to leave. "Unless we get one heck of a boost, (the fire) is projected to take chunks out of our town and surrounding areas," Fontaine said in an interview. "It's looking very ugly right now. "We're begging for air support (to help douse the fire). It's really crucial." Winnipeg has opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and conventiongoers. The province declared a provincewide state of emergency this week to help various levels of government coordinate a response. The fire menacing Flin Flon began Monday near Creighton, Sask., and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. It has grown rapidly and as of early Friday stood at 380 square kilometres. 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, Sask. In total, more than 8,000 people have fled wildfires in Saskatchewan. Steve Roberts from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency told reporters Friday winds have pushed wildfires significant distances. The fire near Creighton and Flin Flon is moving towards those communities, and crews are preparing to put up barriers should flames get to the outskirts, he said. Officials also said multiple structures have been lost in a fire near East Trout Lake, but exact numbers aren't known. Winds are expected to shift, said the agency's Marlo Pritchard. "A lot of the smoke that has been sitting for the last day or so will be moving south," he said. "In the next 24 to 48 hours, the communities in the south of the province will experience extreme smoke conditions." Roberts said a separate fire has reached just outside Pelican Narrows, about 510 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. Meanwhile, Alberta, which has taken the brunt of wildfire damage in recent years, has been comparatively better off. But the 1,300 residents of Swan Hills, northwest of Edmonton, have been ordered out, as have the 900 residents of Chateh in the northwestern corner of the province. Firefighters battling a blaze near Chipewyan Lake, Alta., lost radio contact late Thursday and were forced to take shelter at the local fire hall and school. Alberta Forestry Minister Todd Loewen, on social media, said smoke has stymied attempts to get them out. He also said some structures have been damaged by the fire, but it's unclear how badly they were hit. — By Jeremy Simes in Regina and Aaron Sousa in Edmonton, with files from Matthew Scace in Calgary. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Manitoba premier 'needs to fulfil his promise,' pass legislation on above-inflation rent hikes: advocates
A housing advocacy group has served Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew a warning — in the form of a "notice of termination" caution — saying he has breached his contract with Manitobans by failing to pass legislation on above-guideline rent increases. The "notice of termination" letter from the Right to Housing Coalition — written to mimic the termination forms that landlords can present to tenants before an eviction — was presented by demonstrators during a rally outside Kinew's constituency office in Winnipeg on Friday morning. "He needs to fulfil his promise to Manitobans," Yutaka Dirks, a member of the coalition, said at the rally. "He needs to fulfil his promise … [on] rent regulation, to keep housing affordable." Provincial rules set a cap on how much landlords can increase rent each year (currently 1.7 per cent), but landlords can apply for larger increases, if they can demonstrate they've incurred costs that the guideline amount won't cover. Critics have said it's too easy for landlords to get that approval. While in opposition, the NDP presented a private member's bill in 2021 that called for the Residential Tenancies Act to be changed to include stricter rules to limit rent increases beyond the province's guideline. The then Progressive Conservative government didn't support it. During the campaign that led to the NDP's election in October 2023, Kinew promised an NDP would limit landlords' ability to apply for rent increases above the cap. Last year, the NDP introduced a bill that would set conditions for above-guideline increases, limiting them to cases where landlords face a sharp rise in taxes, utilities or security costs, or where they invest in capital projects such as plumbing and heating. At the time when it was introduced, the bill was hailed by the government as a way to ensure increases aren't approved for cosmetic improvements to properties. However, the bill hasn't been passed, and the Right to Housing Coalition said the government has let it die. "We don't have any legislation in the second session for a second year," Les Scott, a member of the West Broadway Tenants Committee, said at Friday's rally. With the spring sitting coming to an end at the Manitoba Legislature, the bill could have to wait months until it can be introduced again. Scott fears that might not happen until next spring at the earliest. "That's two and a half years after they got elected," he said. "Wab Kinew has to keep his promise, or he has to go." 'Renters feel it' Even though the legislation didn't include fixes to close all rent regulation exemptions, Dirks said passing the bill would have made a "huge" difference to tenants and renters. "We were honest when we said we were excited by the legislation," he said. The idea behind letting landlords increase rent above guidelines is, in theory, to help them recoup costs from investments in the property where tenants live, said Dirks. But after the expenses are covered, the rent often doesn't go down, making the increase a way to turn profits, he said. "We renters feel it the first of every month when the rent is due," he said. "This is something that the premier can [fix] that will cost their government almost nothing. It's a legislative change." Mintu Sandhu, Manitoba's minister of public service delivery, told CBC News in an interview his government is reviewing the Residential Tenancies Act to see what can be included or changed to protect tenants, but he didn't comment directly on the legislation the NDP introduced last year. "I want to make sure whatever we are introducing, what we are passing is benefiting the folks that will benefit," he said. Sandhu said he will meet with the Right to Housing Coalition on Monday to get feedback as part of the review process. "Our government is committed to ensuring that Manitobans have access to safe and affordable housing," he said.
Globe and Mail
14 hours 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.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wildfires have forced thousands to flee communities across parts of Canada — see photos of the 'challenging' emergency
Wildfires have been burning out of control in parts of Canada, threatening several communities and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. The conditions are so severe that Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency. According to Environment Canada's data on May 30, "extreme" conditions — the highest level — are also being seen in parts of Alberta, northeastern British Columbia, the southern parts of the territories and western Ontario. The poor conditions are also posing a threat to northern states in the U.S.; North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and states around the Great Lakes are expected to get the highest smoke concentrations over the next few days. "As we head into the weekend, pray for rain," Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said at a Friday press conference. "We haven't seen rain in the forecast yet. That could really help — sustained rainfall, in particular. But in the absence of that, the past few days have been very challenging, and that may continue." When Kinew ordered a provincewide state of emergency on Wednesday, telling reporters this is "the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people's living memory." The press conference came after roughly 17,000 residents were evacuated from the affected areas. That includes the entire town of Flin Flon, an area of around 5,000 residents. "The only folks remaining on the ground are firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP, who are there to battle the blaze," Kinew said Friday. "We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community." Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe declared a state of emergency Thursday: "It's a very serious situation that we're faced with," he said at a Prince Albert press conference, adding the province also needs to see some rain. Thousands have already evacuated their homes in the province. Below, see some of the most eye-widening photos from the incident that's ravaging parts of Western and Central Canada. Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets much of central North America. — CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) May 30, 2025 Wildfires in Manitoba, Canada have triggered the evacuation of over 17,000 people. These aerial shots are unbelievable. — Met4Cast. (@Met4CastUK) May 29, 2025 smoke from Canadian wildfires — ian (@bigseawaterite) May 30, 2025 The Canada wildfire smoke has arrived. Grass got tough fast. — Maria Cox (@MariaCoxFarm) May 31, 2025
