Latest news with #WildfireService
Global News
a day ago
- Climate
- Global News
Okanagan fire officials urge vigilance amid early season heat, pair of ‘close-call fires'
With the Okanagan experiencing an early season stretch of hot weather, fire officials are urging the public to be vigilant. 'Although it's early June, very hot weather,' said Mike Walroth, protective services director with the Regional District of Central Okanagan. 'Be careful when you're out, recreating and anywhere close to dry grass, because the grass is starting to dry off and we just want to avoid situations like this.' Walroth referred to a fire that erupted in a residential neighbourhood next to Mill Creek Regional Park Thursday afternoon. The fire started on the west side of Spencer Road, with fire officials saying that it jumped to the north side of the road, where it damaged a house and destroyed a vehicle. 'The fire was moving very quickly and extended into the tree up above,' said Eric Grootendorst, assistant chief of training with the Kelowna Fire Department. 'It required a very fast intervention from fire crews.' Story continues below advertisement The intervention involved 60 firefighters from five different fire departments along with support from the B.C. Wildfire Service. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We saw a rank two fire behaviour, which is considered a low-vigour surface fire,' said Cali Nessman, fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre. 1:54 West Kelowna Fire Chief reminds residents to 'FireSmart' their properties B.C. Wildfire service was also called out to the South Okanagan on Wednesday where a four hectare-sized fire broke out along Green Lake Road above OK Falls. Both fires are suspected to be human caused. According to B.C. Wildfire Service, there have already been 49 wildfires within the Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes the Okanagan, since April 1st. While so far they have all been fairly small, the fire danger rating is going up. Story continues below advertisement 'Throughout the Kamloops Fire Center, we're seeing a fire danger rating of moderate with pockets of extreme,' said Nessman. 'And that goes the same for the Okanagan region, moderate with pockets of extreme.' The forecast calls for continued hot temperatures over the next several days across the region.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Snow Lake residents get mandatory evacuation order; premier expresses ‘tremendous gratitude' to firefighters
Snow Lake residents have been ordered to leave the northern Manitoba community by noon Saturday due to an out-of-control wildfire that is burning in the region. The town of about 1,100 residents announced a mandatory evacuation order Friday. 'You must leave because of the danger to your health and safety,' a notice published on the town's Facebook page said. At least three fires have merged to become a massive blaze in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Flin Flon, Sherridon and several other communities in both provinces were previously evacuated. (Manitoba Conservation) A state of local emergency and a 48-hour evacuation notice were previously declared. Mayor Ron Scott previously said a mandatory evacuation would be ordered if the fire moved closer to town. At least three fires have merged to become a massive blaze in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Flin Flon, Sherridon and several other communities in both provinces were previously evacuated. In a Facebook post, the City of Flin Flon said the fire is about 140 kilometres long and five kilometres wide. The province said the fire was more than 307,000 hectares in Manitoba as of Thursday. A team of 260 people is trying to keep the fire out of Flin Flon and Creighton, just across the border in Saskatchewan. No structures had been destroyed in Flin Flon or Creighton as of Thursday night. 'Winds in the area are now blowing from the south, resulting in heavy smoke and fire moving towards the south side of Flin Flon,' the city said. Premier Wab Kinew saluted crews who are protecting communities, including Flin Flon and Sherridon, where teams have been holding flames back for more than a week. 'Hats off, and our tremendous gratitude to the firefighters — the local firefighters, Office of the Fire Commissioner, Wildfire Service — who've been battling these blazes,' he said at an unrelated event Friday. 'Just amazing work happening across the board, and it's happening because people are working together.' About 175 firefighters from across Canada and the U.S. have joined the fight. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for at least 27 communities in Manitoba, resulting in the displacement of more than 18,000 residents. Many are staying with family or friends, or in hotel rooms. Hundreds of evacuees were flown to southern Ontario to stay in hotels there. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for at least 27 communities in Manitoba, resulting in the displacement of more than 18,000 residents. More than 350 people were in congregate shelters as of Thursday. Provincial policy aims to get evacuees into hotel rooms rather than shelters, if they have nowhere else to stay. 'For those folks who are still in shelters, it's just a matter of matching them with rooms as they come online,' Kinew said. 'We're seeing about, over the past few days, maybe a couple hundred rooms become available per day.' Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. A handful of northern communities have moved seniors and people with breathing or medical conditions to Winnipeg due to poor air quality. 'We just have to do a balancing act as new medical patients come in from northern Manitoba, because some communities continue to evacuate due to smoke,' Kinew said. 'We have to preserve some (hotel) rooms for people who have accessibility issues or really intense medical needs, while continuing to move people out of the congregate shelters. 'At this point, the big-picture challenge around rooms has largely been addressed, and it's now just about the daily balancing act of triaging people coming in and people who are already in shelters and matching them up with rooms.' — With files from Gabrielle Piché Chris KitchingReporter Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris. Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
