Wildfire smoke forces more air evacuations from northern Manitoba First Nations

Posted on July 30, 2024 by Peggy

Smoke from a wildfire burning out of control in northeastern Manitoba is forcing more vulnerable residents to evacuate from two First Nations communities Tuesday.

Red Sucker Lake Anisininew Nation Chief Samuel Knott said about 40 more “priority residents,” including newborns, their families and elders, will fly out of the community on Tuesday and travel more than 500 kilometres southwest to Winnipeg.

Heavy smoke from the wildfire blanketed the First Nation last Friday, forcing more than 100 people to relocate Winnipeg over the weekend. The Canadian Red Cross said Tuesday that 169 members of the community are now staying at hotels in the city.

Gusting winds have continued to blow the thick mass of smoke over the community, forcing more residents with breathing issues and underlying health conditions to leave.

“The number is pretty high. We have a lot of people who have respiratory issues,” Knott said.

“There was a slight panic for most of these [evacuated] people,” he said. “It is pretty challenging because not everybody is in favour of leaving the community.”

The wildfire has continued to grow rapidly, doubling in size over the past few days, fuelled by wind, drought conditions and the type of trees in the area, a provincial wildfire service official said. The fire, which was detected July 19, covered roughly 6,000 hectares as of Monday, according to the province’s fire report.

Smoke from the wildfire also forced the evacuation of residents from two other First Nations in the region over the weekend: roughly 800 from Wasagamack First Nation and at least 200 more from God’s Lake First Nation.

The Red Cross said a new round of air evacuations from Wasagamack was planned on Tuesday.

While the blaze is at least 40 kilometres away from Red Sucker Lake, Knott says the wildfire is approaching a hydro transmission line.

“If the fire reaches the transmission line, then the whole community will be without power,” he said.

The community has already been experiencing problems with its solar energy supply, and with no generators, a hydro disruption would leave it without power, said Knott.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro said the wildfire is at least three kilometres from the distribution line.

The Crown utility said it is working with the province’s wildfire services to keep the blaze from the wooden poles that carry the power lines. If the fire does damage the line, 275 customers from Red Sucker Lake Anisininew Nation would be affected, Hydro said.

“We’re doing everything we can to prevent this from happening,” the spokesperson said in an email.

5th First Nation evacuated

The Canadian Red Cross said it is now assisting in evacuations from five First Nation communities in Manitoba on Tuesday, up from four on Monday.

Residents with the “highest health concerns” from Manto Sipi Cree Nation began to evacuate on Tuesday, as wildfire smoke affects that northeastern community.

It’s not yet clear how many community members have been evacuated.

Last week, a wildfire in northwestern Manitoba prompted the full-scale evacuation of Marcel Colomb First Nation, forcing hundreds to flee.

The majority of the evacuees in the province are being relocated to Winnipeg, with 720 evacuees registered at hotels in the city, according to the Red Cross.