Fire Conditions in Western Provinces Improve, Allowing 600 Manitoba Evacuees to Return Home

May 17, 2024 TruthUSA

The Manitoba Wildfire Service states that more than 600 individuals in northwest Manitoba who were forced to evacuate due to an approaching fire last week can now return home starting Sunday morning. This is thanks to the efforts of firefighters, along with cooler weather and some rain.

Residents of Cranberry Portage and other communities were forced to flee their homes on May 11 as a fire rapidly approached, coming within less than two kilometers of the community.

“Fire WE010 near Flin Flon remains approximately 37,000 hectares,” as per a May 17 news release from the Manitoba Wildfire Service. “The fire line closest to Cranberry Portage is under control. As a result, residents of Cranberry Portage, the cottage subdivisions of Sourdough Bay, Whitefish Lake, Twin Lakes and Schist Lake North have now been cleared to return to their homes as of 10 a.m., Sunday, May 19. Barricades will remain in place until that time.”

In a Facebook post, the Regional Municipality of Kelsey, which includes Cranberry Portage, urged people to be prepared when returning from The Pas, Manitoba, where many had sought refuge.

“You should have enough fuel before you leave The Pas to wait on the highway,” the municipality advised in the post. “We expect delays due to the large number of people returning home and working in the area.”

Positive news also emerged regarding a large out-of-control fire near Fort McMurray in northern Alberta.

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“There was minimal growth on the fire yesterday and fire activity was low,” according to a May 17 news release from Wildfire Alberta. The release mentioned that about 10 mm of rain fell on the fire overnight, with more rain expected in the coming days.

Approximately 6,000 Albertans had to evacuate their homes on May 14 due to an evacuation order. A cautionary evacuation alert is still in effect for a significant part of Fort McMurray, leaving the possibility of further evacuations on short notice.

Fire MWF017 has devoured nearly 20,000 hectares and is currently categorized as out of control. Alberta Wildfire reported that the fire remains slightly over five kilometers away from Fort McMurray’s landfill.

“Only four areas have been evacuated so far,” stated Mr. Jean. ”The remainder of Fort McMurray is functioning as normal … the majority of the population did not evacuate.”

At present, there is no clarity on when evacuees can return. The cause of the fire is under investigation, although authorities have indicated that many of Alberta’s fires this year have human origins.

There is also a glimmer of hope for the approximately 4,700 individuals evacuated from the Fort Nelson region in northeast British Columbia. However, Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma cautioned, “We’re not yet in the clear.”

“The region experienced some rainfall in the last 24 to 48 hours, and temperatures have stayed low overnight, reducing the risk of fire spread,” she disclosed during a May 17 news briefing. “Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that we’re not out of the woods. The predicted rainfall may not be sufficient to counter the prolonged dry conditions or extinguish the fires naturally.”

Ma noted that the Parker Lake wildfire is within a kilometer of Fort Nelson and has consumed around 12,300 hectares.

Due to these circumstances, it is premature to provide an estimated timeline for when evacuees can return home, she added.

She also confirmed that some structures were destroyed in the initial two days of the fire, which started on May 10, but no further damage has been reported since.

BC Wildfire Service director of operations Cliff Chapman pointed out that drought conditions in northeastern British Columbia are still severe.

“The region is extremely dry. We are facing fuel drought conditions that are unprecedented in British Columbia,” he remarked. “As a result, we are witnessing intense fire behavior in and around certain fires.”

Chapman highlighted the particularly arid conditions in the Prince George region of northern British Columbia, including Fort Nelson, following the record-breaking fire season of 2023.

“A majority of the burned hectares from last year due to wildfires were in the Prince George region,” he estimated, stating that over 2 million of the 2.8 million hectares lost to fires in 2023 were in that area.

Ma mentioned that some fires in the region smoldered through the winter and rekindled, such as the Patry Creek wildfire, situated about 20 kilometers north of Fort Nelson.

Local resident Ian Langstaff informed The Epoch Times on May 13 that he could smell smoke frequently during the winter from his residence just outside Fort Nelson.

“The fires were never fully extinguished,” he noted. “They burned throughout the winter, we could smell smoke all winter long. We had minimal snow cover … all the locals knew … we were heading for trouble.”

With the May long weekend approaching, Ma emphasized that the majority of British Columbia remains unaffected by fires.

“Now is not the time to visit the Fort Nelson area,” she advised. “However, as I mentioned, our province is expansive and offers numerous other areas to explore.”

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