Hundreds of people are being forced out of their homes in the northwestern Manitoba community of Cranberry Portage after a wildfire knocked out power overnight.
The entire population of Cranberry Portage should evacuate by 3 p.m. on Saturday and go to Winnipeg, said Lori Forbes, the municipal emergency co-ordinator for the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, which includes the community.
Cranberry Portage, about 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was put under a voluntary evacuation order earlier this week after supplies and gas started to run out. Wildfires also closed down a stretch of Highway 10 — the main access route for the community.
The situation worsened after several hydro poles were burned, leaving the community without power on Friday. Forbes said the longer the electricity is out the greater the risk operations at the water treatment and sewage plants might be compromised.
“The decision is made based on general services human beings need to be healthy,” she said.
Manitoba Hydro said the extent of damage to power infrastructure is unknown at this time. The R.M. of Kelsey said the community might be without electricity for several days.
At least 430 people are believed to be in Cranberry Portage, Forbes said, but the number can be as high as 600 given there’s a number of cottagers and seasonal visitors this time of the year.
Before the mandatory evacuation was declared, 87 people who left from their homes had registered with the R.M., Forbes said.
Evacuees from Cranberry Portage are being asked to make their way out using Highways 39 and 6 to Winnipeg’s Billy Mosienko Arena at 709 Keewatin Street.
“We need people to get up and move, to be safe and out of the dangers up here right now,” she said.
Another consideration for the mandatory evacuation is the smoke billowing from a wildfire burning out of control about 35 kilometres northwest Cranberry Portage, Forbes said.
That wildfire prompted the mandatory evacuation of Flin Flon earlier this week, forcing its roughly 5,000 residents out of their homes. The blaze was 40,000 hectares in size and less than 400 metres from the edge of the city by Friday.
No structural damages had been reported by Saturday morning, the city said in social media update.
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email [email protected].
