Manitoba once again declared the state of emergency in the entire province due to forest fires, which continue to threaten several communities.
At 12:01 p.m., we declared the state of emergency due to forest fires in northern Manitoba, also because large communities ordered evacuations
says Prime Minister of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, at a press conference on Thursday. We really want to repeat the degree of seriousness of the situation.
The authorities of Garden Hill and Snow Lake ordered their inhabitants to leave the premises due to a forest fire.
The chief of Garden Hill, Dino Flett, and the Council decreed this urgent measure to protect the life and security of all residents while a dangerous forest fire broke out in the community
indicate the leaders of the community by press release.
It is an unprecedented and devastating moment for our community and our people
Dino Flett adds that the evacuation operations are carried out with urgency and caution
And he urges residents to stay calm, follow all official instructions and help each other as much as possible.
Updates will be provided through the official communication channels of the Anisininew nation of Garden Hill, according to the press release.
Eleanor Olszewski, Federal Minister of Emergency Management, said on X Thursday morning that Ottawa had sent the Canadian Armed Forces to participate in the evacuation.
Garden Hill has more than 4,500 inhabitants and is located approximately 290 kilometers south-east of Thompson.
Wab Kinew indicates that seven Hercules planes are currently on site to make the evacuations at the rate of 80 people per trip.
The assistant assistant to the service of conservation agents and the fire prevention program escaped from Manitoba, Kristin Hayward, explains that the three lights of Garden Hill merged. They cover approximately 2000 hectares.
The fires have extreme behavior. They threaten structures in the community and this is the reason why the state of emergency was declared
she said.
On Wednesday, Dwayne Chornoby, a resident of Garden Hill, published Videos on his Facebook page showing several bombers of water fighting fire.
Snow Lake also evacuated
The inhabitants of Snow Lake had to leave the community at the latest Thursday, at noon. This is the second time that the inhabitants of this city have been targeted by an evacuation order this year.
According to the last update of the province on forest fires, three separate fires burn, all within a radius of 25 kilometers around the community of Snow Lake, which has just over 1000 inhabitants. The city is located approximately 685 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg.
The municipal authorities of Snow Lake say they are particularly concerned about a new unspeakable fire that burns about 24 kilometers from the city.
Strong winds in the south push the flames to the north. Added to the western winds, these conditions lead to large smoke in the region.
Wab Kinew held a press conference on Thursday with the assistant subminister responsible for the prevention of escaped fires and the service of conservation agents, Kristin Hayward (on the left), as well as the assistant deputy supervisor of the Manitoba emergency management organization, Christine Stevens (right)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Catherine Moreau
The evacuated will notably be redirected to Winnipeg where the center of Soccer which is on avenue Leila has resumed service. The Bill Mosienko arena will again welcome people. The province also claims that it also wishes to use the space of the RBC Congress Center.
We need more infrastructure to be able to house people evacuated
underlines Wab Kinew. We know that there is an animated congress at the end of the week at the RBC, our plan is to plan around these events and to have a balanced approach for the holding of this activity and the urgent needs of the evacuated.
More than 12,000 Manitobans still evacuated
The assistant deputy minister of the Manitoba emergency management organization, Christine Stevens, says that there are currently nine communities which are under evacuation order due to forest fires. Twelve have declared a state of emergency.
Ms. Stevens estimates that this new wave of evacuation affects more than 12,600 people. At the height of evacuations at the end of May, around 22,000 Manitobans had been forced to leave their homes.
Kristin Hayward indicates that currently 105 forest fires are active in the province. Since the start of the forest fire season, 261 forest fires have started, while the average over 20 years for this moment of the year is 197.
Based on statistics of July 8, Kristin Hayward indicates that more than a million hectares were destroyed by the flames in Manitoba this year. In comparison, the average of the last 20 years for this time of the year is 94 000 hectares.
We are almost 11 times the average. It’s been the worst year for 30 years. The second worst year was in 2013 when just over 720,000 hectares burned
she said.
Despite the replacement of the state of emergency, the provincial ban on making open fires elsewhere in the provinces is not replaced, underlines Ms. Hayward.
The majority of these fires are caused by lightning and others are suspected of being criminal in nature
she said.
However, municipalities can set up their own ban.
With CBC information