Flin Flon residents unsure what they'll come home to as city readies to lift evacuation order

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 21, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Some Flin Flon residents are having mixed feelings aft learning they volition soon beryllium allowed backmost home, saying they're tense about what authorities they volition find the metropolis successful astir a period aft a wildfire forced them out.

Officials with the northwestern Manitoba metropolis announced Thursday evening they're gearing up to assistance the evacuation bid on Wednesday astatine 9 a.m. CT. 

About 5,100 Flin Flon residents are expected to statesman to travel location then, 28 days aft the bid was enactment successful place.

"I'm benignant of tense to spot what it's going to look like," said Brett Holland. The Flin Flon evacuee said he's been busking astir Winnipeg with a rental guitar to support his caput disconnected the occurrence and besides support his girl busy.

"We got pictures and we saw that the occurrence map.… It looks similar it did a batch of damage," Holland said. "I've seen immoderate videos, but I'm definite it'll deed erstwhile we get up there."

WATCH | Flin Flon evacuees anxious arsenic they cogwheel up for return:

The occurrence adjacent Flin Flon was astir 370,780 hectares successful size arsenic of Friday's wildfire bulletin. A occurrence southbound of the metropolis near Bakers Narrows Provincial Park was astir 7,200 hectares.

Holland said he's bracing for changes.

"We're large into hiking and kayaking and fishing," helium said. "I saw immoderate videos wherever the occurrence was close nether hiking trails. So I'm benignant of disquieted about, you know, everything that we utilized to bask doing conscionable being gone."

'For america to benignant of inactive beryllium lasting is miraculous'

The Flin Flon re-entry volition spell up truthful agelong arsenic determination is nary unexpected occurrence behaviour and the program to get indispensable services moving goes smoothly, officials said Thursday.

Flin Flon Deputy Mayor Alison Dallas-Funk warned residents health-care services volition beryllium constricted and that determination volition beryllium a deficiency of supplies astatine market stores.

Noelle Drimmie said there's a batch of uncertainty arsenic she looks to program retired the days up — including the agelong thrust location with 2 tiny children.

"We don't cognize what's happening with daycare currently," she said. "There's going to beryllium a batch of things conscionable to enactment on.… We're going to person to clean. We've had powerfulness outages, right? So, you know, the fridges and the freezers and, you know, we near a clump of bananas connected the counter."

On Friday, Saskatchewan officials announced residents of the municipality of Creighton  — which is adjacent to Flin Flon — arsenic good arsenic adjacent Denare Beach volition besides beryllium allowed to spell home, starting Sunday morning.

Drimmie said immoderate of her friends surviving connected the Saskatchewan broadside of the borderline person mislaid their homes.

"It's astounding to spot … the devastation that has surrounded the town," Drimmie said. "For america to benignant of inactive beryllium lasting is miraculous successful a batch of ways, but again, precise devastating for the Saskatchewan side, and I cognize there's … cabins and things similar that connected the Manitoba broadside person been mislaid arsenic well."

Find the latest wildfire accusation astatine these sources:

• Canadian wildfire map
• Province of Manitoba occurrence bulletins
• CBC's wildfire tracker
• Communities nether evacuations successful Manitoba

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