Winnipeg opens its doors as thousands flee crippling fires in northern Manitoba

WINNIPEG – Driving along a dark, winding highway, with cars lined up bumper to bumper, it took Rob Burroughs more than 12 hours to get to Winnipeg from his home in Flin Flon.

On a normal day, it usually takes seven.

“We could see (the fire) very well,” he said Thursday outside an evacuation centre. “The night before, the wind was in our favour … but then we were told that the wind was going to change on Wednesday, and it did.

“We could see (the fire) perfectly. Red (skies) and lots of black smoke.”

Burroughs is one of thousands staying at evacuation centres in the city after fleeing crippling wildfires burning across northern Manitoba. The city opened its doors Thursday to evacuees as the provincial government grapples with finding beds for them all.

Most area hotels are filled with people fleeing other fires, as well as conventiongoers.

There was little to no visible foot traffic at the main evacuation centre at the Billy Mosienko Arena. Security kept media away. Others will be housed at larger facilities like recreation centres and soccer fields.

Wildfire ‘exploded in size’

The fire near the city of Flin Flon began Monday across the boundary in nearby Creighton, Sask., and exploded in size. Residents were told Wednesday to flee south with their essentials and be out of town by midnight.

“Some of the residents, like my kids, live right off the perimeter, which is only one-and-a-half kilometres from the fire,” Burroughs said. “(First responders) were going door to door, telling them to get out.”

Burroughs said he waited for his three adult children and his common-law partner to get off work before fleeing in his pickup truck and a borrowed SUV. They plan to check in at a hotel Friday.

The fires have forced 17,000 people from their homes in remote communities and First Nations, including 6,000 in and around Flin Flon.

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At a Wednesday press conference, Premier Wab Kinew said it’s his province’s largest such exodus in living memory.

He has issued a provincewide state of emergency and asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to deploy the military to help with evacuation flights. He has also asked for additional aid from other provinces.

B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said Thursday more than 50 firefighters and equipment have been sent to Manitoba.

“My thoughts are with the people of Flin Flon right now,” Parmar said, adding that the B.C. Wildfire Service has also received a request from Saskatchewan.

Thousands forced to flee

From Manitoba to Alberta, wildfires have forced thousands of residents from their homes as the summer season heats up.

About 600 residents from the town of Lynn Lake, northwest of Winnipeg, were already out. Two weeks ago, a blaze near the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet forced close to 1,000 people to flee.

In Saskatchewan, three First Nations have declared a joint state of emergency as thousands escaped ahead of the flames. Affected communities include Pelican Narrows, Denare Beach, Hall Lake, Southend and Montreal Lake in the province’s northeast.

The Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation and Montreal Lake Cree Nation say fires are boxing in communities and they need help. They urge Premier Scott Moe to call a provincial state of emergency.

Moe is set to speak Thursday at a news conference with wildfire officials.

In Creighton, Mayor Bruce Fidler said nearly all of the town’s 1,200 residents have left. Most are heading south to Nipawin, roughly 270 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

“We do have a few people here that we need, our essential workers and firemen,” he said. “The fire is still threatening the communities, but they’re holding it steady.

Michele Sorensen with the town of Nipawin said evacuees are staying in hotels. She said the town is prepared to open a help centre should provincial officials or the Canadian Red Cross request one.

Meanwhile, in north-central Alberta, the 1,300 residents of Swan Hills, 175 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, were ordered earlier this week to leave ahead of an advancing, wind-whipped fire, estimated to have grown to 36 square kilometres in size.

Late Wednesday, a mandatory evacuation was issued for Chipewyan Lake, west of Fort McMurray. People in the northern community were to head to the Lakeview Sports Centre in Wabasca. 

Not far away, those living in Red Earth Creek have been ordered to leave and seek shelter in Peace River. People in Loon Lake, Peerless Lake and Trout Lake are being told to evacuate to Slave Lake.

— With files from Jeremy Simes in Regina, Wolfgang Depner in Victoria and Aaron Sousa in Edmonton.