Flin Flon residents remain ready to evacuate nearly a week after a Saskatchewan fire came within kilometres of the northern city.
Manitoba Wildfire Service director Earl Simmons said Tuesday the 330-hectare blaze has displayed “extreme fire behaviour.”
There was hope the fire would start to die down last weekend. Despite the setback, 75 per cent of the fire perimeter is considered contained.
“We’re very hopeful and feeling more comfortable every day,” Simmons said.
Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine told the Free Press Tuesday the city’s 5,000 residents are going about their lives while keeping an ear on local radio for updates.
“I don’t think anybody’s running around extremely anxious right now,” he said, adding, “We think we’re on the winning side of it.”
Though the community is used to seeing water bombers flying overhead, the proximity and severity of this fire, and a major wildfire in May, are concerning, Fontaine said.
The city has prepared for an evacuation with official agencies, such as the RCMP, and has eight buses ready to move people.
The “Wilson” fire had grown to 330 hectares as of Tuesday, from 60 hectares since being reported July 10, and remains uncontrolled.
About 1,900 people in the Saskatchewan communities of Creighton, which is about five kilometres southwest of Flin Flon, and Denare Beach, about a 20-minute drive from Flin Flon, are also on evacuation standby.
Crews from Saskatchewan and Manitoba spent Tuesday working to get control of the southwest corner of the blaze, a “finger” that juts out to the north, and attack the fire’s westerly arm.
Manitoba has three crews, composed of 15 firefighters, fighting the blaze.
Two Canadair CL-415 water bombers are flying out of Flin Flon’s airport on a near-daily basis.
The bombers hit nearby lakes, funneling 5,300 litres of water per plane in a mere 10 seconds as a crew circling overhead in a “bird dog” plane co-ordinates drops.
Five water-bucket helicopters from Saskatchewan are also making drops to keep the fire from growing.
“They’re cooling down the edge of the fire,” Simmons explained. Ground crews then run hose lines around the fire and spray the edges to contain it.
Once the outer edge is fully contained, crews will advance towards the core to put it out.
Simmons suggested containment could happen within the next few days. With lower humidity and hot, dry weather expected, there’s a push to make that happen.
“That fire will be starting to kick up if we don’t,” Simmons said.
A fully contained fire, he cautioned, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s controlled.
Residents should continue monitoring official information sources and local news, he suggested, and ensure their bags are packed and ready to go.
“I don’t want to scare people, but just people need to be prepared that it’s constantly evolving,” Simmons said.
jordan.snobelen@freepress.mb.ca
Jordan Snobelen
Reporter
Jordan Snobelen is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. He spent four years reporting for community newspapers in Ontario before joining the Free Press’s city desk in 2024. Read more about Jordan.
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