Heated battles rage in forests

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SARAH O. SWENSON / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Firefighters work to extinguish flames that destroyed a trailer near Vita on Monday. Three wildfires were burning in southeastern Manitoba.

BADGER -- Three wildfires raged in tinderbox-dry southeastern Manitoba Monday as the province continued to rush more workers and equipment into the region.

Six water bombers, three helicopters and six bulldozers were among the equipment used on Monday to battle the flames. Two more water bombers are expected to arrive from Quebec, while another two are expected from Minnesota.

The provincial government also announced a host of new restrictions on travellers, industry and campers to try to prevent a new batch of fires.

As of Monday afternoon, a 5,000-hectare blaze continued to threaten the community of Badger, about 130 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

Some 16 residents were evacuated from their homes early Monday morning. It's not known when they will be able to return.

The town, which is in the middle of the forest, was evacuated when flames simultaneously swept in from the north, the east and the south.

Residents were pulled out of their homes when a neighbour and an RCMP constable banged on doors at 1:30 a.m. They spent a tense night in Piney, the nearest town's community centre, waiting for news.

A Free Press news crew entered the deserted town Monday. With RCMP on guard duty, the town looked peaceful and undamaged with no sign of fire other than a heap of firefighting gear left by the CN rail tracks that split the town in two.

Duane Boutang, reeve of the RM of Piney, which contains the village of Badger, said Monday afternoon private property has not yet been damaged.

Provincial firefighters were also battling a separate 400-hectare blaze some 10 kilometres north of the same village. Both fires are on Crown land.

Premier Greg Selinger completed an aerial tour of the fire zone late Monday, accompanied by Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh. Selinger said there was no blazing front line for firefighters to attack.

"What's most important is the resources we have here out on the ground. It starts with local people and the province is 100 per cent there," he said.

"What was remarkable for all of us is that the fire is spread out," Selinger said. "You get the feeling it's 100 little fires and it's spread all over the place. You get a plume of smoke here and flames there."

The premier visited the regional fire command post established at the Marchand Wayside Park, east of Marchand. And he flew over Badger, where he reported a ring of fires curved around the town.

"The first priority is protecting the town of Badger," Selinger said.

Water bombers dampened down the circle around the town. Ground crews with heavy equipment were waiting to move in and throw up a protective ring.

Some fires are inaccessible to ground crews battling the flames. Water bombers are the only way to combat them.

"Firefighters will work on one flank and then the winds shift and turn the fire right around," said Gary Friesen, a provincial fire program manager.

"We have more firefighters coming to join the operation from all over Manitoba," Friesen said.

The only damages to private property so far have come in the blaze southeast of Vita in the RM of Stuartburn. There, two cabins were lost on Sunday, while another was damaged. The only other structures to be hit were abandoned farm buildings, said provincial fire commissioner David Schafer.

To the west of Sandilands, five municipal crews under the co-ordination of the Office of the Fire Commissioner were battling another wildfire on private lands southeast of Vita. The fire, located south of PTH 201, is also described as 5,000 hectares in size.

Provincial officials have not identified a cause for any of the fires.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca

Fire restrictions in eastern Manitoba:

Effective immediately, backcountry travel is restricted to those with permits.

All burning permits have been cancelled, and no new permits will be issued.

Campfires, including those in provincial parks, will only be allowed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Canoeing and boating will be restricted to developed shorelines only.

For cottagers and permanent residents, a travel permit is not required for access to a residence only.

For lodges, access is permitted to the main lodge. Travel permits will be required to use out-camps.

All forest, mining and quarry operations will only be allowed to operate by permit.

For more information on travel permits, contact the local Conservation and Water Stewardship office or phone 1-204-345-1444.

The above restrictions affect the following areas: from the Manitoba-U.S. border in the south to the Bloodvein/Gammon River, including Bissett and Hollow Water, in the north and east of La Broquerie, Richer, and the Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation, and along the eastern edge of Lake Winnipeg to the Ontario boundary. This includes Whiteshell, Nopiming, Grand Beach, Birds Hill, Moose Lake, Wanipigow, Wallace Lake, Manigotagan River and south Atikaki provincial parks, the Northwest Angle and Sandilands provincial forests.