About 150 people evacuated from St. Theresa Point First Nation due to Manitoba wildfire smoke

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Peggy

More than a hundred people have been sent out of a First Nation in northern Manitoba due to health risks posed by smoke from nearby wildfires.

As of Friday, the Canadian Red Cross said it had evacuated 152 people from the First Nation in the Island Lake region.

Residents from St. Theresa Point First Nation began to leave the community on Thursday, the Red Cross previously said. Eight residents have been registered at hotels in Brandon, more than 550 kilometres to the southwest of St. Theresa Point.

St. Theresa Point joins four other communities in northeastern Manitoba that have moved elderly members, young children and people with respiratory issues.

The out-of-control wildfire, about 20 kilometres south of God’s Lake Narrows, is just shy of 30,000 hectares in size, the province said in a Friday update.

More than 1,000 people from Wasagamack First Nation, God’s Lake First Nation, Red Sucker Lake Anisininew Nation and Manto Sipi Cree Nation were evacuated, the Red Cross said.

A full evacuation was completed last week in Marcel Colomb First Nation in the northwestern part of the province, as another wildfire encroached on the community.

The Red Cross said 209 people from Marcel Colomb have been evacuated.

The government said there have been 191 wildfires in the province this year, with 70 of them currently active.

Fire officials say that’s below the average of 277 for the same time in previous years.