Manitobans scramble to evacuate as new wildfires rage

Manitobans are fleeing from a number of communities as new and continuing wildfires rage amid sweltering, tinder-dry conditions.

The province said in a fire bulletin Tuesday morning a state of local emergency was declared in Nopiming, Wallace Lake, South Atikaki, and Manigotan River provincial parks.

An evacuation order has also been issued for Nopiming Provincial Park.

Cottagers, commercial resort and lodge operators, backcountry users and campers are asked to evacuate by 11 a.m. Monday in Bird, Booster, Davidson and Flanders lakes in south Nopiming, and by noon Monday in Long and Beresford lakes in north Nopiming, Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River.

Reception centres have been set up at the West Hawk Lake Fire Hall for the South Whiteshell and the Rennie District Office for North Whiteshell.

All public and privately developed areas in Nopiming, Wallace Lake, South Atikaki and Manigotagan River provincial parks are closed to the public, the province said. That includes cottage subdivisions, commercial areas, campgrounds, and all recreational areas, including trails, beaches, backcountry canoe routes and campgrounds.

They will stay closed until conditions improve, the province said.

Mandatory evacuations have also been announced for the North and South Whiteshell, with residents and cottagers needing to be out by 5 p.m.

Areas in the north impacted include all cottage blocks on Big Whiteshell Lake and Crowduck Lake, including Crowduck Lake Camp.

The communities impacted in the South Whiteshell include:

• Caddy Lake Blocks 1,2,5,6,7 and 8 and Green Bay Resort;
• Florence Lake, Nora Lake and Ophir Siding; and
• McDougall’s Landing, Big Island Landing and Indian Bay in West Hawk Lake.

According to the province’s fire map, a 5,000-hectare fire is out of control west of Nopiming Provincial Park. It was first detected Tuesday.

A new fire was also reported Tuesday afternoon in the Lac du Bonnet region.

The town and RM’s emergency coordinator John Fleming told CTV News Winnipeg it is burning near the intersection of Windigo Road and PR 313.

“It is out of control and being pushed in a northerly direction,” he said in a phone interview.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued Tuesday morning but has since been extended to all residences on Provincial Road 433 north of Lagsdin Way, including all subdivisions of Granite Hills and Cape Coppermine.

In a release sent Tuesday night, RCMP said an additional 12 Mounties are on their way to Lac du Bonnet.

They will be assisting with evacuations, patrolling evacuated areas, and offering other support as needed.

RCMP said it included highly trained Search and Rescue Unit officers and well as officers from traffic services and nearby detachments.

Roadblocks are in place along Highway 313. RCMP said they are only allowing emergency personnel through.

Fleming said the public should avoid the area.

“We have water bombers, helicopters and two ground fire departments working. These first responders need room to work.”

Paula Johnson scrambled to get out of her Grausdin Point home Tuesday after the evacuation order was issued.

“It’s a bit of a panic,” she said.

“You don’t have time. You have maybe 40 minutes to grab what you need to grab, but you need to be out.”

She jumped in her car and headed west, thick smoke surrounding her vehicle that seemed to get thicker the further she drove.

“We barely made it out,” she said.

Johnson registered at the evacuation centre as she and other evacuees awaited news.

Her phone has been inundated with texts and calls from seasonal residents wanting to know if the flames have reached their community. Johnson is the president of the cottage association and a full-time resident herself.

She worries about what she will find when she is eventually able to return home.

“These are our homes. These are not our cottages, so we’re all wondering where we’re going to be.”

RM of Piney declares state of emergency

A state of emergency was also declared in the RM of Piney on Tuesday after a fire broke out in that region Saturday.

The province’s fire map estimates it’s burning over 1,000 hectares and is said to be out of control.

“The weather conditions are very dry. It’s before green up, so fire can spread very rapidly,” RM of Piney Reeve Wayne Anderson said Tuesday.

The RM is working with the fire commissioner to coordinate firefighting efforts in the Carrick, Badger, and Florze areas.

However, the flames are currently about one kilometre from Carrick, which prompted an immediate evacuation order for the town.

A reception centre for evacuees is open at the community hall in neighbouring Woodbridge.

Anderson said there could be more evacuations depending on what the winds do overnight.

“We’re hoping that we get the rain on Thursday and if we can get through to that point, we’ll be good.”

‘It spread really quickly’

Blair Mahaffy watched as the sky around his home on the south shore of West Hawk Lake turned orange Monday night amid an 8,000-hectare wildfire burning near Ingolf, Ont.

“You could see it really growing pretty quick because there’s a stiff wind. I think it’s worse today than it was yesterday,” Mahaffy said.

Water bombers have been hard at work over the last few days trying to douse the flames.

They didn’t get much help from the winds.

West Hawk Resort owner Keith Henwood said gusts were so strong Monday, they were flattening trees.

“It spread really quickly with the winds,” he said.

“I think it was around midnight (Monday), we took a drive down to the main beach at West Hawk just to look across, and you could see it was very involved.”

Henwood heard from neighbours in Ingulf that a number of cottages have already burned.

“We’re hoping for the best for them. Hopefully things change here and we get some rain.”

For now, Mahaffy thinks his home that’s been in his family since the ‘30s will be safe, but he’s getting ready in case he needs to leave.

“We should probably pack a go bag because it’s so dry and you just never know, right? A spark off of a trailer, a chain dragging on the highway, or someone setting off fireworks – it’s not going to take much.”

ECCC warns of air quality concerns, excessive heat

According to the latest fire situation report from the province, there were 22 fires burning in Manitoba on Tuesday afternoon, three of which were out of control. Those blazes are all in the eastern part of the province.

There were also four new starts over the last 24 hours, most of which were also in eastern Manitoba.

The rash of wildfire activity throughout Manitoba and Ontario is being fueled by unseasonably warm conditions and little precipitation, prompting special air quality statements in many regions.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) warned poor air quality is expected in a number of areas over the next few days as smoke plumes linger.

Heat warnings are also in effect throughout a swath of southeastern Manitoba, with the weather agency noting daytime highs in the low to mid-30s and overnight lows of 16 C are expected to persist through Wednesday.

- With files from CTV’s Joseph Bernacki