‘Folks are stressed out’

Premier Wab Kinew boarded a chopper and took to the air Tuesday to get a sweeping view of two roaring wildfires that have forced 550 northern Manitobans to abandon their homes.

“We had the opportunity to fly above both fires and the larger of the two is significant. (While) we were in the air, you saw it get that much more serious, more smoke, and of course, tons of flames. Trees decades old, completely engulfed in flames,” Kinew said after returning to Winnipeg from the Cranberry Portage area, 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

The blaze east of Flin Flon was sparked by lightning May 9, and was spurred on by high winds and drought conditions, said Earl Simmons, director of Manitoba Wildfire Service. Residents of Cranberry Portage were ordered to evacuate Saturday night. Many went south to The Pas.

Kinew said the province is keeping tabs on the response to ensure evacuees’ needs are met, including provisions for emergency food and shelter, and financial assistance.

“To me, it comes down to this: folks are stressed out. It’s been a very trying, difficult experience. We’re gonna just try and make it that much easier for folks who’ve been through so much already,” the premier said after his tour.

Evacuees were experiencing a range of emotion, from stress and sadness, to acceptance.

“Whether folks are responding with tears or with just kind of laughing and saying ‘what else can you do?’…I do think that everyone in the region has been through a lot, including the first responders, the wildfire fighters who’ve been going pretty much all-out over the weekend,” he said.

The premier had landed at the Flin Flon airport, which is 10 kilometres away from the fire that prompted the evacuation. He was taken by RCMP to Bakers Narrows, where the wildfire service has established an incident command centre.

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As of Tuesday the flames had consumed 31,600 hectares — about 70 per cent of the size of Winnipeg. The flames, which had reached within 1.5 kilometres of Cranberry Portage, had crossed a section of railway and were affecting rail travel between Cranberry Portage and Pukatawagan.

Kinew met with evacuees in Flin Flon and The Pas, where reception centres have been established to co-ordinate emergency supports.

His tour included a bird’s eye view of the fire near Wanless, north of The Pas, that’s approximately 1,550 hectares in size. Crews were scrambling to protect the hydro line between The Pas and Cranberry Portage. As of Tuesday, that fire was two kilometres away from Highway 10.

The premier thanked members of the fire commissioner’s office, as well as firefighters, law enforcement, emergency-management officials and municipal, Métis and Indigenous leaders, for co-ordinating the fire fight and evacuee support.

Lori Forbes, the municipal emergency co-ordinator for the region, said earlier Tuesday that news the premier was to fly in to see the situation first-hand was well-received.

“I think it is really important that the province of Manitoba show up and lend its support,” she said. “It’s good to give the residents of Manitoba an opportunity to talk to (Kinew), and to see him and to see that he knows (what is going on)… We really appreciate that he is going to come and be available to answer some questions.”

Forbes noted the province has established emergency social services.

“They have taken over accommodation and financial supports for the evacuees,” she said.

Residents in The Pas pitched in with donations of food, clothing, children’s toys and other goods, Forbes said.

The resources are essential for evacuees, some of whom fled with nothing more than the clothes they had on, she said.

“It’s out of this world amazing… People are calling us (asking ) ‘What can I do, what can I bring?’” she said.

“Obviously, nobody is happy, but we are doing the best we can.”

Highway 10 linking Cranberry Portage to Flin Flon is open, but requires a police escort. The road had been closed due to heavy smoke conditions, the province said.

RCMP have established checkstops between Little Spruce Road and Northstar Road on the north side of the highway, and at Athapap Road on the south side. Residents are not permitted to re-enter Cranberry Portage until the evacuation order is lifted.

Parts of the region continue to experience communication shortages that limit access to wireless services and the internet, the province said.

The RM of Kelsey posts updates on its website to keep residents informed.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.  Read more about Tyler.

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