Flin Flon evacuees adjusting to life in Winnipeg, thankful to be safe from out-of-control blaze

CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 5:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Wildfire evacuees staying successful an arena successful Winnipeg accidental it's been hard being forced retired of their homes arsenic an out-of-control occurrence edges person to the northwestern Manitoba metropolis of Flin Flon — but they're grateful to beryllium safe.

Kyler Colomb and members of his household are among the Flin Flon evacuees who spent Thursday nighttime astatine southbound Winnipeg's Century Arena.

"I privation determination was a small spot of vigor past nighttime — I was benignant of freezing — but I'm conscionable gladsome that there's a extortion implicit my caput tonight," Colomb said Friday morning. He hopes his household tin beryllium moved into hotels soon.

Juliet Stenbeck, who was besides staying astatine the arena, said she felt the aforesaid way.

"It was acold — but I liked it, due to the fact that I was with my family," she said.

Colomb said erstwhile evacuees arrived astatine the arena, they were each fixed a blanket, a pillow and a cot to slumber on, and families stuck unneurotic with larger groups connected 1 broadside of the arena and smaller ones person to the middle. He thinks the acquisition has been particularly hard for younger kids.

"They don't cognize what's going connected — they're scared, I bet. Last nighttime was a batch of crying, you know? One of the kids pulled the occurrence alarm, and I really got up successful panic mode," helium said, thinking at archetypal helium would person to evacuate again.

"It was like, I conscionable got arsenic overmuch worldly arsenic I could to travel here, and present I person to permission everything successful there."

Colomb is besides inactive reasoning astir his dog, who helium had to permission down during the evacuations. 

"He's similar my different fractional of my heart, and close present it's conscionable broken. Without him, I'm conscionable — I don't know, it's hard to, like, find retired who I americium without that dog."

The wildfire concern has reached a hopeless level successful Flin Flon, wherever the politician said Friday helium and the fewer remaining radical who aren't actively warring the fire had been told to leave, due to the fact that the winds are changing and there's thing other they tin do.

"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," George Fontaine told Heather Hiscox connected CBC Morning Live connected Friday. "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.

'Never seen thing similar that'

Century Arena is 1 of respective sports facilities crossed Winnipeg wherever abstraction has been made disposable for wildfire evacuees, on with YMCA-YWCA locations and edifice rooms, wherever possible.

One metallic lining successful it each was the nutrient evacuees got, Colomb said — including pizza, spaghetti and crockery for meal and scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and yogurt for breakfast. 

For Colomb, the absorption present is connected trying to find enactment arsenic a labourer portion successful Winnipeg.

"I'm presently conscionable trying to enactment busy," helium said. "It's hard. I'm going to spell broke, and I don't privation that happening."

It wasn't conscionable Flin Flon residents forced retired by the wildfire. Flat roofer Gregory Doucette said helium was successful municipality from Ontario to assistance a person connected his location erstwhile the blaze started closing in.

"I've ne'er adjacent been adjacent to a occurrence similar that, never. Never seen thing similar that, don't ever privation to spot it again," said Doucette, who piled into a schoolhouse autobus with galore others from Flin Flon for the hours-long travel to Winnipeg.

"[I was] a small scared, not knowing what was going on, seeing each the fume and flame. And truthful I was benignant of blessed to get retired of there."

He said Friday helium plans to bargain a summons backmost to Toronto arsenic soon arsenic helium can.

As of Thursday (the astir caller update from the province), determination were 22 progressive wildfires successful Manitoba. There person been a full of 103 already this season, acold supra the province's 20-year yearly mean of 80 astatine this clip of year.

The Manitoba FireView representation includes locations, sizes and different accusation astir the wildfires.

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