Gimli-area residents may see bright lights over Lake Winnipeg during training exercise: Canadian Armed Forces

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Peggy

Residents near Gimli, Man., may see smoke and bright white lights from flares furling out of aircraft Wednesday evening, the Canadian Armed Forces says.

Aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, based out of 17 Wing Winnipeg, will conduct training overnight Wednesday, starting around 8 p.m. and continuing until 1:30 a.m., over the Lake Winnipeg search and rescue training area, the Department of National Defence said in a Wednesday news release.

The Lake Winnipeg training area range is located over the waters of Lake Winnipeg near Gimli.

People in the area may hear one of the squadron’s Hercules planes, or see the bright white flares they will drop, which can be seen from far distances and take around five minutes to drop from the sky to the water, the news release said.

The training will help search and rescue crews build their skills to conduct future night search and rescue missions, the department said.