Several homes on a First Nation in northeastern Manitoba have been destroyed by wildfire that has forced nearly 200 people to evacuate from the community.
At least seven homes in Tataskweyak Cree Nation were destroyed Friday after a fire ignited and was quickly spread by heavy winds, the community’s chief and council said in a social media post on Saturday.
“Yesterday was an absolutely horrendous day,” Tataskweyak’s leadership said in the statement.
Tataskweyak, also known as Split Lake, first declared a state of emergency on May 29 due to a nearby wildfire. An evacuation order was issued the next day for the community, just over 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
On June 17, just hours after Tataskweyak announced it was lifting the May evacuation order, the community declared a new state of emergency because its water treatment plant stopped working. Community members were asked not to return home until the issues were resolved.
On Friday night, Tataskweyak Chief Doreen Spence urged community members to head to the band office for an RCMP escort to the town of Gillam, about 90 kilometres east of Tataskweyak.
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About 175 people were taken to Gillam’s recreation centre, according to Tataskweyak’s chief and council, who also said fire crews from Gillam and York Factory First Nation are expected in Tataskweyak on Saturday to help battle the blaze.
Highway 280, which runs from Tataskweyak to the city of Thompson, was closed from the junction of Highway 391 to Gilliam due to fire, the province’s 511 service said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the northern First Nation advocacy group Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak said Saturday that Marcel Colomb First Nation, in northwestern Manitoba, is also evacuating again due to wildfire.
About 600 residents of the nearby town of Lynn Lake began to evacuate Friday, only two weeks after they returned from an earlier evacuation.
Highway 391, from Lynn Lake to Marcel Colomb First Nation, was also closed Friday night due to fire, according to 511.
While the province of Manitoba has lifted an earlier provincewide state of emergency, its latest fire bulletin on Friday said the western and northeastern areas of the province still have a high to very high fire danger, with some pockets of extreme fire danger.
The Manitoba Wildfire Service was responding to 64 active wildfires across the province as of Friday, and there had been a total of 205 wildfires to date — above the average of 176 total fires for this point in the year.
Meanwhile, to the southeast of Tataskweyak, a fire that ignited north of Thompson Friday was about eight kilometres away from the city of roughly 13,000 on Saturday, said Mayor Colleen Smook said.
“Today, the winds have changed, so they’re to our favour,” she told CBC.
“There is no panic situation right now,” but “anything could change in a matter of hours,” she said.
She encouraged Thompson residents to gas up their vehicles and to pack medications, food and other necessities in case they have to leave at a moment’s notice.
Thompson, a northern hub, has historically served as a reception centre for northern Manitoba wildfire evacuees, but there have been instances where wildfires have threatened the city, said Smook.
“All the north works together to remediate as best as we can,” the Thompson mayor said. “The big thing is to be prepared.”
Find the latest wildfire information at these sources:
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email [email protected].
