Weather conditions in areas with wildfires are improving for firefighters, with cooler temperatures and increased humidity, but officials say they will continue fighting the blazes for some time.
The change in conditions, with moderate to low winds, has allowed crews on the ground to make some progress in fighting wildfires, officials said Thursday.
That favourable weather is expected to continue, with precipitation in the forecast for areas in northern and eastern Manitoba with active wildfires.
But Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister for the Conservation Officer Service and Manitoba Wildfire Service, told reporters at a news conference that the amount of precipitation is variable and uncertain, and it won’t be enough to put out wildfires alone.
There are 27 active wildfires, 12 out of control, officials said Thursday.
There’s been 112 wildfires to date, the most recent fire situation report says. Of those, 100 are human-related, seven have natural causes and five others are under investigation.
More than 732,000 hectares have burned so far.
With thousands out of their homes, some in congregate shelters, Manitoba remains under a provincewide state of emergency.
Manitoba has so far deployed 650 people to support the firefighting efforts, along with just over 175 firefighters from out of province, including some from the United States who arrived on Thursday, Manitoba Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie told reporters.
The support from across the country and within the province has been “instrumental” in Manitoba’s firefighting and evacuation response, he said.
There are a number of out-of-control wildfires in close proximity to communities, including a fire near the town of Lynn Lake that is over 72,000 hectares.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner is working with local fire departments to protect properties, as well as to shore up areas north and west of the community, Hayward said.
Firefighter crews are making “good progress” in battling the wildfire in the vicinity of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, which is over 3,000 hectares. Additional crews will be deployed Thursday.
The largest wildfire in Manitoba is close to Flin Flon and Sherridon in the northwest, after separate blazes merged into one, Hayward said.
The Flin Flon fire started in Saskatchewan and joined the Sherridon fire; that massive blaze now covers over 300,000 hectares in Manitoba.
A number of structures have been lost outside Flin Flon, Hayward said, but the government is still trying to assess the situation to determine an exact number. Different jurisdictions, including the RCMP, Manitoba Parks and local authorities, are notifying owners if their properties burned.
Near Pukatawagan, also known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, a wildfire has spread to nearly 10,000 hectares. Hayward said Manitoba has made “great progress” to secure the community from that fire, with help from favourable winds.
No structural damages have so far been reported for Pukatawagan or Pimicikamak Cree Nation, officials said.
WATCH | Improved weather helps firefighters battle wildfires in Manitoba:
Officials say cooler temperatures, moderate winds and rain in the forecast are allowing for ‘good progress’ on some wildfires, but not enough to put them out.
With vast swaths of land burning, 21 communities have so far declared states of local emergency, 26 have been evacuated and four remain on short evacuation notice, said Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization.
Thousands have been forced out of their homes in “a huge-scale evacuation in a short amount of time,” Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said.
Congregate shelters were opened to provide evacuees with immediate safety. As of Thursday, around 359 people were still in those settings, but Manitoba is aiming to provide hotel rooms for all who have been forced out of their homes, Naylor said.
More than 1,700 hotel rooms have been assigned so far in Winnipeg and just over 200 more are available, and the province is expecting 200 others to be available in the next few days.
Daily stipend for evacuees
About 1,500 more hotel rooms have been secured in Ontario, just under 800 of which have already been assigned, Naylor said.
Asked why some evacuees were being flown out of province, Naylor said there were already 2,500 people from other communities who needed shelter when the largest number of evacuees, coming from Flin Flon and First Nations in northern Manitoba, were ordered out of their homes last week.
The province was also sheltering people forced out of northern Ontario by wildfires.
“This has been going on for a long time. There’s been a lot of moving parts, and we are happy to accept that support,” she said, referring to Ontario’s help.
Thousands of spaces are available in temporary shelters, but only a small number of them are needed at this time, Naylor said.
The government said the Emergency Measures Act is an option that could be used to free up hotel spaces if required, but at this time, officials are working with the Manitoba Hotel Association and other operators to acquire the number of rooms needed in a voluntary way.
Meanwhile a daily stipend for evacuees is rolling out Thursday. Most people should expect their cheques to arrive within three to five days from the application, but there might be some delays, depending on whether evacuees have email addresses or not, officials said.
A spokesperson for the province said Manitobans 13 and older who were forced out of their homes under a mandatory evacuation order from May 23 onwards should receive $34 per day as a stipend, while those 12 and under are entitled to $27 daily.
The first payment issued will cover two weeks of support, and subsequent payments will be issued based on how long evacuation orders last, the province said.
Indigenous Services Canada is responsible for payments to First Nations people, while emergency social services are looking after the rest of Manitobans, officials said.
WATCH | Manitoba government gives wildfire update:
Manitoba officials provide an update on the wildfire situation in the province, which remains under a state of emergency.
But the stipend is flowing out via the Red Cross, so evacuees need to be registered with them to receive the money, even if they are staying with friends or family.
Over 18,000 evacuees have registered with the Red Cross, officials said. Those who haven’t registered can do so through a new website Manitoba launched on Thursday that shows current wildfires, shelters and evacuee services, but only in English at this time.
Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Humane Society has opened a shelter for pets of evacuees who can’t be with them at this time.
Some pets were left in the communities that were evacuated, Flin Flon among them, and the province is working with firefighters to feed and look after them, Naylor said.
Worsening air quality
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson told CBC News earlier Thursday that worsening air quality has forced five more First Nations in Manitoba to start preparing for the evacuation of vulnerable residents with medical conditions.
Four of those communities are in Manitoba’s Island Lake region, about 470 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. The other community is Misipawistik Cree Nation, roughly 390 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
While getting members with respiratory issues out promptly is a primary concern, the leaders of their communities want to ensure hotel spaces are available in southern Manitoba before they start moving residents, Wilson said.
The evacuation of other communities in recent days has been disorganized and unco-ordinated, Wilson said, with some people, including vulnerable residents with medical conditions, still waiting in line for accommodation or meals.
“Unfortunately, we have no real involvement,” Wilson said, with the Red Cross providing evacuation services to First Nations under an agreement with Indigenous Services Canada.
Wilson is calling for a regional emergency management strategy in which Indigenous communities have more participation than they do now.
“We need First Nations leadership to be involved in the decision-making, and the response time needs to be quick,” she said.
Find the latest wildfire information:
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@findhelp.ca.
