Latest news with #WhiteshellPark
CBC
22-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Roughly half of the Mantario Trail has been torched by wildfire. Now what?
Social Sharing One of the casualties of the 2025 wildfire season is Manitoba's most popular distance-hiking route, which is closed indefinitely due to a fire that's swept across the wilderness zone in Whiteshell Provincial Park. Roughly half of the 63-kilometre Mantario Trail lies within the perimeter of the fire known as EA063, which began near Ingolf, Ont., in mid-May before spreading into Manitoba's Whiteshell area. It has engulfed more than 5,400 hectares (54 square kilometres) of boreal forest in Manitoba, plus an adjoining swath of Ontario. While the fire is being held, it remains an active blaze. Provincial crews have yet to assess the condition of the trail or the campsites that lie within the boundaries of the fire at Caribou, Marion, Olive, Moosehead and Mantario lakes. "We recognize that it has been significantly impacted," said Mike Moyes, Manitoba's minister of the environment and climate change. "Our team is looking forward — once the risk is lowered for us — to get in there." While more than 30 kilometres of the Mantario lies within the fire perimeter, it's unclear how much of the trail has actually burned. Wildfires sometimes pass over low-lying areas or spare rocky outcrops at higher elevations. Regardless, the province has already warned backpackers and trail runners who may have had plans to visit the trail this year to make other arrangements. This is not just because deadfall must be cleared from campsites and the trail itself. Maintenance crews may have to bring down thousands of widowmakers — the dead trunks of burned trees left standing but highly prone to falling during windstorms — before the trail can be deemed safe enough to traverse. Even then, the trail may not make for a pleasant walk or run. While forests do regenerate, burned areas are devoid of shade and can be unpleasantly hot to traverse when a pack is on your back. This will present a quandary for park officials, given the increasing popularity of outdoor recreation in a province without many distance-hiking options. Opportunity for new trails In recent years, the Mantario Trail has become immensely popular on its own. Two decades ago, it was possible to walk the Mantario during the optimal hiking season in September — when the trail is dry and biting insects are all but nonexistent — and only see a handful of other humans. Since the start of the pandemic, which further fuelled the outdoor recreation boom, it has become commonplace to find 30 people or more at every campsite on the trail, making the Mantario feel more like a front-country music festival than a back-country wilderness destination. Removing the Mantario Trail from the available distance-hiking options, even if the southernmost and northernmost sections do reopen, will only place more usage pressure on Manitoba's other distance trails, such as the 42-kilometre Epinette Creek-Newfoundland trail system in Spruce Woods Provincial Park, the 39-kilometre Tilson Lake loop in Riding Mountain National Park and the 29-kilometre Upper Track Trail in northern Manitoba, which connects Pisew Falls with Kwasitchewan Falls. One option facing Whiteshell administrators and volunteers could be a temporary rerouting of the Mantario Trail to the west while the fire-impacted area recovers. This may not prove popular with cottagers at Florence Lake, who successfully lobbied decades ago to move the trail to the east. A second option would involve fast-tracking the creation of new trails. Very few new hiking trails have been created in Manitoba since the 1970s, and certainly none since the popularity of hiking and trail running exploded. Moyes suggested Manitoba may create more trails but did not commit to the idea. "In terms of those long-distance trails, we recognize that they're becoming increasingly popular, and while that's fantastic, it does bring other challenges," he said. Those challenges include overuse. This is not just a matter of encountering more people on the trail. On the Mantario Trail, several campsites have become infested with mice and littered with trash toward the end of the peak summer and fall season. These are telltale signs of trail overuse that have not been addressed by the provincial parks branch. The province does not employ any means of managing the number of people who use the Mantario Trail. There are no fees to use the trail, as there are along popular Parks Canada routes such as the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, and no trail user registration. The province conceded Friday it has no means of discerning how many people walk or run the trail in any given year. The closure of the trail due to fire presents an opportunity for the parks branch to reconsider these policies as well as the construction of new trails. The good news is, wilderness trails are a lot less expensive to plan and build than other forms of infrastructure. There are no armies of volunteers pitching in to place fresh coats of asphalt on Manitoba's highways. Trail creation does attract volunteers. Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
02-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Woman dead after slipping into water at Whiteshell Provincial Park: RCMP
A 38-year-old woman is dead after she slipped on some rocks into the water and was dragged by the current into a lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park during the weekend. RCMP said in a news release that they received a report of a drowning around 12:45 p.m. on Saturday at Sturgeon Falls in the park, about 110 kilometres east of Winnipeg. The woman slipped on the rocks and fell into the water before being pulled by a strong current into Nutamik Lake, police said. A Manitoba conservation officer used a boat to find the woman in the lake. She was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said. RCMP said the incident is still under investigation.
CBC
25-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Whitshell residents say there's a frustrating lack of communication about wildfire situation
Some permanent residents and cottagers at Whiteshell Provincial Park say frustration is growing as they wait to hear when they'll be allowed to return home, after the province of Manitoba lifted evacuation orders for some parts of the park earlier this week.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
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
- Climate
- CBC
'Resentment is high,' says Whiteshell resident as homeowners, cottagers wait for information about return
Social Sharing Some permanent residents and cottagers at Whiteshell Provincial Park say frustration is growing as they wait to hear when they'll be allowed to return home, after the province of Manitoba lifted evacuation orders for some parts of the park earlier this week. The province issued an evacuation order on May 13, closing the eastern Manitoba park on May 15 due to extreme fire conditions. On Thursday, Manitoba Parks let permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators return to Falcon Lake and Barren Lake, in the south of the provincial park. Manitoba's latest fire bulletin shows a wildfire burning at the Manitoba-Ontario border, near Ingolf, had reached a total 32,000 hectares in size, with about 1,650 hectares on the Manitoba side. In that Friday update, the province reiterated that some parts of the Whiteshell were safe but said "more suppression is needed" before other areas can reopen. Golf courses have resumed operations, fishing tournaments are underway and couples are celebrating their weddings this weekend at Falcon Lake, said Brian Zimmerman, a permanent Whiteshell resident. But just under 15 kilometres northwest of Falcon Lake, his home at the West Hawk Lake is still under an evacuation order. "We just keep being told that the fire is still going and it's in danger," Zimmerman said. "But it's not near our place at all, and we just don't understand how seven minutes away, everything is open.… Every area around here is vulnerable." A spokesperson for the province said Manitoba is working to protect lives and ensure firefighters can do their jobs safely. As soon as people can return, they will be notified, the statement said. Updates 'word of mouth or via Facebook': resident But Jocelyn Martin, who has had a home at West Hawk Lake with her husband, Jason Martin, for 25 years, said residents and cottagers have largely been left in the dark, combing through social media posts to figure out what's happening. "Most of the updates about the fires and the evacuation have been coming through word of mouth or via Facebook," Jocelyn Martin said. She said the community has largely been left to gather information on their own, leading to growing frustration over what they say is lack of communication from Manitoba Parks and provincial officials. "The resentment is high," said Jocelyn. "It's becoming ugly amongst the community because of the lack of communication." Jason Martin said he and Jocelyn are taking each day as it comes, couch-surfing while waiting for updates. "I don't think anybody wants to go back into the park or to a cottage or to a home, like ours, with any risk. That's not the concern, but the lack of detail and misinformation and misdirection," he said. Barb Bobychuk has been staying in Winnipeg since the wildfires forced her out of her home in Caddy Lake. She was hoping to get an update on when her family might be allowed back home on Saturday. "We've had no communication from the government, we have no clue as to when we're going to be allowed back, even though the fires in the north have not changed direction," Bobychuk said. Bobychuk said she got the evacuation order through word of mouth, unlike during a wildfire in 2016, when Manitoba Parks went door to door. The province said it provides regular updates on the fire to park residents and cottagers through the chamber of commerce and the Whiteshell Cottagers Association. But Bobychuk said information is not shared daily, and often lacks important details. "We don't know where the fires are burning, if they're burning close to us, any hot spots, who's working them," she said. She said a dedicated website for Whiteshell fire updates "is something that should have been done and instituted immediately." "If we had knowledge, we would then feel a little better," said Bobychuk.
