Marcel Colomb First Nation residents are anxious about the state of their community as wildfires rage in northern Manitoba.
“I’m worried that my house will burn; its the only house I have,” said Kathy Bigatty, who was evacuated from her home Wednesday and flew to Winnipeg from Thompson Thursday afternoon.
Bigatty was among dozens of evacuees to register with the Red Cross at the Best Western Plus hotel on Wellington Avenue Friday. The humanitarian aid organization is providing room and board at hotels across Winnipeg and in Thompson, the Pas and Lynn Lake.
Mike Sudoma/Free Press As the wind shifts, an increase in smoke from nearby forest fires start to fill the air.
Nearly 245 residents from Marcel Colomb, about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, have been evacuated since Tuesday as wind fuels two blazes threatening the community, said Don McCallum, the First Nation’s CAO.
“It looked pretty bleak (Thursday), and then the wind started blowing them to the community,” he said. “And that’s what’s kind of scary, so we did an emergency evacuation.”
A fire eight kilometres northeast of Marcel Colomb, first detected Tuesday, has grown to approximately 167 hectares. A separate blaze four kilometers east of the First Nation and 33 kilometres east of Lynn Lake is approximately 824 hectares, according to the province’s latest fire bulletin.
“It was bad,” Bigatty said.
Some evacuees were given little notice earlier this week when they were told to leave their homes.
“I didn’t even really have time to think,” said Harriet Hill. “I just packed up my stuff and left.
Mike Sudoma/Free Press Families walk into a hotel where fire evacuees from Marcel Colomb First Nation register to receive aid from Red Cross Friday afternoon.
Some were resistant to evacuation orders, McCallum said, adding many residents have never faced a wildfire threat until this week.
“It kind of interrupts with their daily living. And then when they go to Winnipeg, they don’t know what to do there. They’ve never been to the city, so they have no clue what they should be doing,” he said.
Homes and buildings are equipped with outdoor sprinkler systems that will trigger if the fire reaches the community, McCallum said, adding there is security there to prevent anyone from getting in or out of the First Nation.
The Manitoba Wildfire Service is currently responding to 51 active wildfires across the province. To date, the province has seen 155 fires, down from the average of 264 for this time of year.
With dry conditions and a risk of lightning but little to no precipitation in the forecast over the next couple of days, more fires could be ignited, the bulletin reads.
Crews from Ontario are assisting with operations across the province.
Mike Sudoma/Free Press Nearly 245 residents from Marcel Colomb, about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, have been evacuated since Tuesday as wind fuels two blazes threatening the community.
At an unrelated news conference Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew said given the current wildfire situation in northern Manitoba, crews would remain in the province instead of being sent to Alberta and B.C., to help fight dozens of wildfires, including a blaze that devastated the historic resort town of Jasper.
McCallum said he expects residents to be able to return home as early as Monday.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.