Flin Flon braces for devastation as wind expected to drive wildfire into northern Manitoba city

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 11:10 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The wildfire concern has reached a hopeless level successful Flin Flon, Man., wherever the politician says helium and the fewer remaining radical person been told to permission due to the fact that the winds are changing and there's thing other they tin do.

George Fontaine said he expects the worst.

"We've seen devastation crossed the state successful antithetic communities wherever this has happened, and there's a very, precise precocious imaginable that it's going to hap here," helium told Heather Hiscox connected CBC Morning Live connected Friday, referring to what happened in Jasper, Alta., past summer.

"The prognosis that we're proceeding is that the winds are going to alteration and crook that occurrence backmost towards our community, and it could beryllium precise catastrophic if that happens," helium said. "It's got a consecutive way into here."

The occurrence is 40,000 hectares successful size and little than 400 metres from the borderline of the city, the city's exigency measures spokesperson said.

There's not adjacent an enactment for a mitigation strategy, specified arsenic soaking structures with concern sprinklers, Fontaine said.

"They've done what they tin for the large things, similar for our bulk substance plants … but determination is nary instrumentality left. It's each being utilized up [to combat fires successful different places astir the province]. There is none."

Water bombers haven't been capable to help, due to the fact that it's excessively smoky for them to fly, Fontaine said.

"So, you know, everybody has to beryllium gone, and then we're going to person to conscionable spot what quality does," helium said. "Everyone's truly fearful."

The immense bulk of the metropolis of astir 5,000 successful northeastern Manitoba was cleared retired connected Wednesday. Some members of metropolis assembly and immoderate civic employees and exigency responders had remained to monitor things and springiness updates connected societal media.

The winds had been favourable connected Thursday, pushing the flames distant from the city, but that's astir to alteration and everyone indispensable get retired today, Fontaine said.

"The upwind isn't acceptable to displacement to aboriginal successful the day, truthful that should springiness america clip to thrust out. Once we thrust away, that's it. I'm not definite erstwhile we'll beryllium capable to travel backmost successful present — when oregon if," helium said.

"I don't privation to sugarcoat anything. I'd emotion to beryllium backmost connected the … TV with you sometime successful the adjacent aboriginal and say, wow, we've dodged a bullet. But astatine this peculiar constituent successful time, you know, it's not looking bully astatine all."

And there's lone 1 mode retired for those who remain. The roadworthy to the west, crossed the borderline into Creighton, Sask., is blocked by the fire, and Highway 10 to The Pas is besides blocked by flames now.

The second way was the 1 evacuees took retired of Flin Flon connected Thursday.

"So we person to caput from wherever we are to Snow Lake and past down southbound towards Grand Rapids and to Winnipeg that way," Fontaine said.

At this point, helium doesn't cognize if anyone successful Flin Flon has decided to disregard evacuation orders and hide. He urges anyone who mightiness beryllium doing that to get connected the autobus that is acceptable to instrumentality distant the past radical astatine 11 a.m. CT.

"If not, they're going to beryllium astatine mercy of immoderate quality brings," helium said.

"If this goes the mode that it's projected it could go — we've seen the pictures of communities similar Jasper — and there'd beryllium obscurity to go."

Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anyplace successful Manitoba oregon email [email protected].