Hundreds of Lynn Lake residents are being forced out of the northern Manitoba community, with wildfire activity once again threatening residents’ safety only two weeks after they were allowed to return home.
The town issued a notice on its Facebook page at 10 p.m. Thursday night, saying a mandatory evacuation order would begin on Friday.
An update earlier in the day said a fire about 20 kilometres southwest of Lynn Lake could damage the main transmission line servicing the community as early as Friday.
That has the potential to cause an outage that could last at least a month and would leave the town unable to maintain essential services.
The notice warned residents a mandatory evacuation could be declared if there’s a power outage Friday, and everyone should be ready to leave on short notice.
It also encouraged anyone who can leave on their own to do so as soon as possible, saying “early voluntary departures reduce strain on emergency services and improve safety.”
Before the evacuation notice was posted, the town’s Facebook page said buses will run Friday for those requiring help getting out.
The town, just over 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was previously given a mandatory evacuation order on May 27, which was lifted on June 20.
Last week, Lynn Lake was put on evacuation alert after the nearby fires triggered air quality warnings.
An out-of-control fire near the community was about 71,860 hectares in size as of the latest provincial fire bulletin Thursday.
The Lynn Lake Facebook notice said two fires near Leaf Rapids — about 75 kilometres southeast as the crow flies — are threatening to cut off travel from the town to the northern hub of Thompson.
Hot, dry conditions and shifting winds are forecast for the next two or three days, worsening wildfire activity and increasing the risk to infrastructure, the town said.
The fire threatening the transmission line near McVeigh was expected to cross Provincial Road 396 Thursday, the notice said, adding it could also impact travel and fire response access.
Roughly 600 people live in Lynn Lake.
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].
