Evacuation ordered for Garden Hill Anisininew Nation after wildfire enters northern Manitoba community

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 17 minutes ago

A wildfire has breached the bluish Manitoba assemblage of Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, prompting a "full-scale" evacuation order.

"Chief Dino Flett and the assembly person declared this urgent measurement to support the lives and information of each residents … arsenic a unsafe wildfire has present entered the community," said a Thursday morning news merchandise from the First Nation, a remote fly-in assemblage connected the northbound enactment of Island Lake. 

"This is an unprecedented and devastating clip for our assemblage and our people," Flett said successful the release.

"We are taking each imaginable measurement to guarantee the information of our residents, particularly our elders, children, and those with urgent aesculapian needs. I humbly inquire for prayers from each nations and supporters arsenic we look this crisis."

People successful the municipality of Snow Lake, successful northwestern Manitoba, is besides under an evacuation bid issued Wednesday night, with everyone to beryllium retired by noon Thursday.

Manitoba exigency officials person scheduled a quality league connected Thursday day to supply an update connected the worsening wildfire concern successful the province.

CBC Manitoba volition livestream the 12:45 p.m. CT quality league present and connected CBC Gem.

The merchandise from Garden Hill says evacuation operations "are being carried retired with urgency and care" and urges residents to stay calm, travel each authoritative instructions and assistance 1 different wherever possible.

Further updates volition beryllium provided done authoritative Garden Hill Anisininew Nation connection channels, the merchandise said.

Eleanor Olszewski, the national curate of exigency management, posted connected X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday greeting that Ottawa has sent the Canadian Armed Forces to assistance with the evacuation.

Garden Hill is location to much than 4,500 radical and located astir 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

On Thursday morning, Wekusko Falls Provincial Park, astir 8 kilometres southbound of Snow Lake, was closed by the Manitoba authorities owed to wildfires.

All parkland users indispensable vacate the area, said a mandatory evacuation bid issued Thursday by Manitoba Parks director Rob Nedotiafko.

Updates connected parkland closures astir the state are listed connected the government's website.

Snow Lake, astir 590 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, posted a mandatory evacuation bid connected its Facebook leafage conscionable aft 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

The municipality had been nether a 12-hour evacuation advisory before residents were ordered to permission by Thursday astatine noon.

There are 3 abstracted fires burning wrong 25 kilometres of the municipality of conscionable implicit 1,000 residents, the province's astir caller wildfire update said.