From strawberry farm to car dealership, Manitobans offer fire evacuees a place to stay

CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

As a wildfire exigency forces thousands of radical retired of their homes, Manitobans are stepping up to help, with immoderate making abstraction connected their properties to connection structure for those fleeing the fires.

Sweet Acres proprietor Darin Hubscher is opening up his maize and strawberry picking farm, on the outskirts of Swan River, for evacuees who request a spot to parkland their vehicles and stay, adjacent if it is conscionable a halt connected their evacuation route.

Swan River is astir 300 kilometres southbound of Flin Flon — a metropolis of 5,000 that is among several communities ordered evacuated this week — and astir the aforesaid region northbound of Brandon, 1 of the confederate locations wherever immoderate evacuees are heading.

Traffic coming done Swan River has been dense since Manitoba declared a provincewide authorities of exigency connected Wednesday afternoon, Hubscher said. 

"I'd hatred to beryllium successful that concern myself and not cognize wherever to go," he said. "When I spot radical parked connected the broadside of the road, that's not a spot to beryllium camping."

Manitoba declared the state of exigency connected Wednesday, arsenic respective out-control wildfires astir the state are forcing much than 17,000 radical retired of their homes. Firefighters person already battled 103 blazes this season, the state said successful a Thursday update, well above the province's 20-year yearly mean of 80 astatine this clip of year.

Hubscher's girl brought up the thought of letting evacuees enactment connected the farm's spot for free, since Sweet Acres has previously opened it up for overseas campers who are road-tripping, and this week's evacuation is bringing backmost memories for his family. 

A fewer years ago, a wildfire forced Hubscher's lad to evacuate from Kelowna, B.C. 

"I conscionable cognize what helium went done being displaced, and his feelings," helium said. "We tin assistance immoderate radical out, for sure."

'The close happening to do'

Hubscher expected the archetypal evacuees astatine his farm connected Thursday. 

Greg Ashauer besides expected to spot evacuees astatine his Swan River auto dealership, Redline Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.

He moved a fig of cars sitting connected the batch of his dealership to marque abstraction for evacuees.

"It's the close happening to do. We are not acold from Flin Flon, and I cognize that the Winnipeg edifice concern is beauteous overmuch interaction and go," Ashauer said. 

"We're surely a batch closer, and we've surely got the country here, and it doesn't impact our regular operations astatine all." 

The dealership is welcoming everyone to enactment — not lone those driving RVs oregon campers, but also families who tin acceptable up tents successful a grassy area. 

The dealership opened up its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic to a radical of radical who knitted handmade look masks. Ashauer said he's hoping to erstwhile again assistance the community. 

"It's conscionable a tiny happening that we tin bash to effort and help.… We've got electricity, we've got potable water, we've got beauteous overmuch everything," helium said.

"Just amusement up and we'll marque definite that you're taken attraction of."

Wiijiiwan, an Indigenous-led unpaid enactment successful Brandon, is besides stepping up to assistance evacuees.

Natashia Marion, an Indigenous assemblage co-ordinator with Brandon's Urban Aboriginal Peoples Council, is acting arsenic a liaison betwixt the Red Cross and the enactment to get donations to evacuees and signifier amusement for them.

The northern First Nations of Pimicikimak Cree Nation, Pukatawagan (also known arsenic Mathias Colomb Cree Nation) and Marcel Colomb First Nation are among the communities nether evacuation orders.

"We are striving to capable their needs close astatine this moment," Marion said. "We recognize they are suffering, having been forcibly displaced from their homes, done nary responsibility of their own."

It is unclear however galore radical volition travel to Brandon, but Marion said the metropolis expected to person 5 caller flights with evacuees connected Thursday. 

The metropolis mightiness request to consider opening up assemblage centres and different unfastened nationalist areas to evacuees, she said.

"This is surely the largest effect we've had, but we are prepared for it. We're present to help." 

WATCH | Evacuees get successful Winnipeg:

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