Premier Wab Kinew toured areas near an out-of-control wildfire in northwestern Manitoba on Tuesday to meet with people and hear impacts of the blaze first-hand.
The fire, just north of Cranberry Portage and east of Flin Flon, is believed to have been started by lightning strikes and was first detected last Thursday. It was intensified by high winds and extremely dry conditions over the weekend, forcing the community of Cranberry Portage to be evacuated.
In a Tuesday afternoon update, the province said the fire was about 31,600 hectares in size and about 1½ kilometres from Cranberry Portage.
Kinew visited Bakers Narrows, Flin Flon and The Pas to speak with evacuees, first responders and leaders impacted by the fires, which he also got a look at from above during a helicopter ride.
“It’s a very dramatic, serious situation,” Kinew told reporters in The Pas.
“When you see how close it got to Cranberry [Portage], when you can see Flin Flon in the background while you’re in the midst of very thick smoke, it does really underline how unique it is.”
Air tankers and helicopters with buckets have been fighting the fire, the latest provincial fire bulletin said. The extent of the blaze can be viewed on the provincial government’s interactive fire map.
“I think the thing that stands out to me is how early in the year we are,” Kinew said, adding that some firefighters told him Manitoba’s wildfire season usually begins after the May long weekend.
“There’s a tremendous effort going on to fight these wildfires right now and it is going to continue to be a serious situation for some time.”
The premier also thanked some of the five additional crews from Ontario that arrived in the area Tuesday. Another crew is expected to arrive Wednesday, the province said.
Firefighters from Saskatchewan have also been helping, and more are expected from Quebec, according to Kinew.
“It really is a joint effort,” he said. “That’s what Canadians do in times of need, we help one another out, and so our hope is that we’ll be able to manage this situation and then lend a hand in other parts of the country in the future.”
Although Manitoba’s NDP government was criticized Monday for the $50 million it set aside for emergency management in this year’s provincial budget, Kinew says his government will make sure “every resource goes out the door” to put out the fires and help evacuees.
Spring fires can be ‘very vigorous’: prof
Brian Amiro, acting department head and professor emeritus in the department of soil science at the University of Manitoba, said having such wildfires in spring is particularly troublesome.
“Across the boreal forest and especially in Western Canada, we can get spring fires that are very vigorous. What happens basically is after that snow melts we have dry fuel — dry grass that hasn’t greened up yet. And if that gets ignited, then we see that that fire can spread very quickly,” he told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Tuesday morning.
“In the middle of the summer … trees can hold some moisture in and that helps fire not to move quite so quickly. But at the moment, in the spring, there’s no canopy up there. The sunlight is shining through, it’s drying out that surface fuel, and wind can get in there a little more easily.”
The wildfire is not yet threatening Flin Flon, but the telecommunications system has been severed, cutting cellphone service and internet access. The city has created a patchwork of communications using the Starlink satellite system to access the internet as much as possible.
There was significant damage to eight kilometres of fibre, an email from a Bell MTS spokesperson said Tuesday.
“Our crews have been working around the clock. We expect to have all services restored later today.”
The fire has also caused intermittent power outages, according to Manitoba Hydro’s outage map, and is affecting travel in the area.
RCMP say the wildfire smoke is too thick to allow people to drive through the area on their own.
A section of Highway 10 — which links Cranberry Portage to Flin Flon — is open but requires a police escort, the province said in Tuesday’s update. That section of Highway 10 is from Bakers Narrows, between Flin Flon and Cranberry Portage, to Highway 39, south of Cranberry Portage.
Checkstops for police escorts are set up between Little Spruce Road and Northstar Road on the north side of Highway 10 and at Athapap Road on the south side of Highway10, the province said. The Sherridon access road at the junction of Highway 10 remains closed.
The fire has crossed a section of railway in the area and is affecting rail travel between Cranberry Portage and Pukatawagan, the province said.
The Pas helps out
People and businesses in The Pas — where hundreds of the evacuees have gone — have stepped up to help those who are displaced.
Rebecca Johnson, who grew up in The Pas, started an effort that helped feed around 350-400 people on Sunday through a community barbecue. The volunteers also provided coffee and tea to The Pas Fire Department.
“A big thank you to those who are out fighting the fire on the front lines right now,” Johnson posted on her Facebook page.
A second barbecue on Monday served another 250 people, with food also going to the city’s homeless shelter.
“This all began with a group of local volunteers wanting to support those going through a time of uncertainty,” Johnson’s Facebook post said.
“There’s no stopping us now,” Johnson told Information Radio on Tuesday. “We are doing like a lunch-slash-supper today.”
Businesses have donated products while volunteers have flooded in to respond to the efforts.
“I’ve had a crazy amount of people reach out … asking how they can help, how they can support,” she said.
The request for donated items has expanded beyond food to now include blankets, clothing, toothbrushes and other essentials people might have left behind in the time of panic when packing to get out of Cranberry Portage.
“Really, we are open to anything.”
The library has started a play group, while the Kelsey Recreation and Wellness Centre has opened up for use, allowing kids to exert some of their energy and meet others.
“I just love my little town, because we never allow each other to go without or to suffer alone. We’re always there for each other — it’s just zero hesitation when we get together to help one another,” Johnson said.
Information for evacuees is also being provided on the rural municipality of Kelsey’s website.