Manitoba has declared a provincewide state of emergency as wildfires continue to threaten communities across the province.
An emergency alert issued at around 5:25 p.m. CT Wednesday said the measure was due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the “significant step” will involve the evacuation of about 17,000 people as fires continued to intensify throughout Wednesday.
“This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people’s living memory,” he said during a Wednesday evening news conference.
Evacuation orders have been issued for the city of Flin Flon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation and the northern community of Cross Lake, along with Pukatawagan Cree Nation, also known as Mathias Colomb First Nation, Kinew said.
The majority of the evacuees will head to Winnipeg, he said, and will be housed at large facilities such as soccer fields and arenas, he said.
Kinew said Prime Minister Mark Carney has accepted the province’s request to have the Canadian Armed Forces step in to help. The military will be deployed to fly people to safety “in hours instead of days,” the premier said.
The state of emergency will be in effect for 30 days but may be extended if necessary, the province said in a news release.
The wildfire threatening Flin Flon, a city of roughly 5,000 that’s about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, started earlier this week at a landfill in Creighton, Sask., just across the provincial border, and spread into Manitoba. Kinew said he’s in talks with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to ensure people on both sides of the border are taken care of amid health-care disruptions caused by the fire.
Ahead of the province’s emergency declaration, Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine told CBC News in a Wednesday afternoon phone call that all residents of the northwestern Manitoba city will have to leave by midnight.
On Tuesday, the city asked residents to pre-register in case of a potential evacuation. Anyone who has not yet registered can do so via the City of Flin Flon’s website, officials said in a release posted to Facebook on Wednesday afternoon.
Residents have been told to make arrangements to stay with friends and family, or call the 211 health and social services line for information about shelters in Winnipeg.
Anyone who needs information or assistance can go to the community hall, the City of Flin Flon said.
The Town of Creighton also issued an evacuation order on Wednesday afternoon, asking its citizens to leave as soon as possible. The town said Creighton residents who don’t have transportation to get out of town should meet at the arena Thursday morning.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an advocacy group for First Nations in northern Manitoba, said earlier Wednesday the airport in Pimicikamak was not operational, and the community can’t access the main highway because of the fire. MKO said Pukatawagan has also been cut off from its airport.
“Local leaders in several northern communities, both in cities like Flin Flon but also in First Nations, have made the call that their folks need to leave their homes so we can keep you safe,” Kinew said.
“If you are in Flin Flon, please go to Winnipeg. If you are in Pimicikamak or Pukatawagan, listen to direction from your local leadership.”
