‘Pray for rain,’ says Kinew

WINNIPEG — Premier Wab Kinew urged Manitobans to remain calm Friday, a pivotal day in the war on wildfires in which shifting winds sent flames bearing down on Flin Flon, more people had to be evacuated from more communities and desperately needed resources were promised by the United States.

“Keep calm and carry on,” Kinew told an afternoon news conference at the legislature.

He said the threat to Flin Flon had become so severe that the mayor, council and the few others who remained after a citywide evacuation order issued Wednesday afternoon had no choice but to leave Friday.

“We had our health-care workers leave this morning … the only folks remaining on the ground are the firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP who are there to battle the blaze,” Kinew said.

“The situation there is very, very serious and we are doing everything that we can to preserve life but also to preserve people’s livelihoods and homes in the region.”

Kinew, who declared a provincewide state of emergency Wednesday, said he spoke to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who did the same a day later.

The wildfire situation is serious across Canada, he said, adding the province has requested help from abroad.

A fire crew of 125 — 100 firefighters and 25 managers — from the U.S. is on the way, in addition to support from other provinces and territories. He couldn’t say when the Americans were expected to arrive.

Two helicopters from Colombia are joining the battle, as well.

Kinew said the crisis is magnified this year because there are out-of-control fires in most regions of the province and across the Prairies, and limited resources have to be shared.

“It really does just underline how serious this situation is,” he said.

The wind was expected to shift later Friday, directing flames toward Flin Flon.

“As we head into the weekend, pray for rain,” the premier said.

The council in Bissett, a town on the west side of Nopiming Provincial Park, issued a mandatory evacuation order for 8 a.m. Friday.

The blaze that tore through the park, forcing evacuations in mid-May, has grown to more than 124,000 hectares. Residents were advised to head west on Highway 304 to get out.

As well, residents of Bakers Narrows, which is near Flin Flon, were ordered to evacuate.

A new fire near Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake), 144 kilometres northwest of Thompson, was sparked Thursday night and residents were put on alert.

On Wednesday, 17,000 northern residents were ordered to head south to safety in Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie and Brandon. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management, approved the province’s request for emergency assistance Thursday morning. She said Ottawa was working to provide all necessary resources to Manitoba.

In a Facebook update Friday at 4:30 p.m., the City of Flin Flon said two helicopters were strategically dropping water in key areas to keep the flames at bay, and Chinook helicopters were on the way to assist. It reported that fire-retardant foam had been deployed on the Saskatchewan side to protect firefighters on the western flank.

Earlier Friday, Flin Flon’s mayor said that some residents had refused to leave.

“We’ve been going around and every door’s been knocked on several times … There’s only so much I can do,” Mayor George Fontaine said.

RCMP officers, rangers and emergency co-ordinators went door-to-door in the city of about 5,000 Friday morning in an effort to get everyone out. About 1,000 residents in surrounding areas were also ordered to leave.

Deputy mayor Allison Dallas-Funk urged residents who had stayed behind to go to city hall to be bused out.

“We don’t want anyone left behind,” she said.

The last bus carrying evacuees left at 11 a.m.

With the blaze just 300 metres from the highway that enters the city, Fontaine was ordered to leave. The fire started Monday night just over the border in Creighton, Sask.

Smoke in and around the community has been extremely heavy, which has prevented water bombers from fighting the flames effectively, he said.

“The projections are if the wind shifts we’re going to be in big trouble,” Fontaine said. “It’s a terrible situation.”

On Thursday, Canadian Armed Forces C-130 Hercules began airlifting evacuees who fled Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross lake) and Mathias Colomb First Nation (Pukatawagan). Perimeter Aviation flights were transporting people to safety, including many who are now in Winnipeg.

When asked about criticism from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation regarding the province’s response to the evacuation, Kinew said Friday people should understand logistical planning must take place before an evacuation can occur.

“I’d like to reassure folks in (Mathias Colomb) the people you have on the ground there are amazing,” he said.

The right conditions are required in order to get firefighters on the ground and water bombers in the air, he said.

“In the emergency situation in which we find ourselves, I think it’s important that we continue to support the efforts of those who are on the front lines,” he said.

Multiple cities and communities in the southern part of the province have opened hockey arenas, recreation centres and community complexes to take in evacuees.

The premier said Friday Winkler is the latest to offer space and hinted a large-scale facility in Winnipeg was being converted to a reception centre, but stopped short of identifying the location in consideration of evacuees’ privacy.

At last count, the province was responding to 25 wildfires, 10 of which are out of control, including a 40,000-hectare blaze near Sherridon, in the northwest.

Deputy mayor Sheryl Matheson said while the community’s infrastructure hadn’t been touched by flames as of Friday afternoon, large wind gusts expected later in the day could be a game-changer.

“The fact that they’ve evacuated everyone in and around Flin Flon tells me they have serious concerns about everything happening in the area,” she said.

The community’s 13 firefighters battled flare-ups Thursday evening, Matheson said.

Two water bombers arrived to help, but the deputy mayor said it might be too little, too late.

“Those winds are against us,” she said.

Rainfall in Manitoba this spring has been well below average and temperatures have sometimes soared into the high 30s Celsius, baking many areas into tinderbox conditions.

Environment Canada meteorologist Natalie Hasell said the seasonal forecast for May, June and July calls for above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation.

“If we had a bit of precipitation every day, this would be a lot different of a story,” Hasell said.

Radar shows a few weather systems carrying precipitation moving toward Manitoba, but it’s unclear whether they will reach the province and where any rain might fall.

The systems are also calling for thunderstorms, which presents an even greater fire risk.

“Again, not good,” Hasell said.

» Winnipeg Free Press