Manitoba looks to move Thompson wildfire evacuees elsewhere amid struggle for hotel space, minister says

Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 12:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Manitoba is looking astatine moving much than 100 wildfire evacuees from the bluish metropolis of Thompson to different portion of the province, arsenic it struggles to find capable edifice abstraction for everyone forced retired of their homes this spring.

As of Thursday, astir 114 radical were inactive surviving successful the evacuation centre successful that city, including immoderate who had been determination for adjacent to 3 weeks, Lisa Naylor, the curate liable for Manitoba's Emergency Management Organization, said astatine a quality conference.

"It is provincial argumentation for radical not to enactment successful congregate shelters. And we person worked truly hard, but due to the fact that we can't find rooms successful the country we are looking astatine moving radical to a antithetic determination successful Manitoba," Naylor said.

"That's going to beryllium sorted retired implicit the adjacent astir apt 24 to 48 hours. Folks person been determination a truly agelong time, and that was ne'er the intention."

Those evacuees are among much than 22,000 radical forced retired of their homes this outpouring by wildfires, successful what Naylor described arsenic 1 of the largest evacuations successful the province's history. 

People from 14 Manitoba communities are inactive evacuated from their homes arsenic wildfires proceed to pain crossed the province, said Christine Stevens, adjunct lawman curate of the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization.

While evacuees from immoderate areas person started to spell home, Stevens said determination are a fig of elements section officials person to marque definite are successful spot earlier that happens everywhere, including the instrumentality of aesculapian unit and instrumentality enforcement, and the reopening of schools, market stores and state stations. 

As of Thursday, determination are 21 wildfires burning crossed Manitoba, including 7 deemed retired of control, said Kristin Hayward, adjunct lawman curate of the Conservation Officer Service and the Manitoba Wildfire Service. 

The state wide is astatine a mean to precocious occurrence information — and portion determination are pockets wherever rainfall has helped, officials are besides anticipating much imaginable occurrence starts caused by caller and forecast thunderstorms, Hayward said. 

Updates connected out-of-control fires

Hayward besides gave updates connected a fig of out-of-control fires burning adjacent communities crossed Manitoba, including 2 successful northwestern Manitoba adjacent the metropolis of Flin Flon.

One of those fires is present astir 7,200 hectares connected the Manitoba broadside of the border, portion the different is implicit 370,000 hectares and inactive precise progressive aft caller rainfall dried up — though Hayward said crews are inactive making dependable advancement successful the country instantly astir Flin Flon.

Another out-of-control occurrence successful eastbound Manitoba, successful the country of Nopiming Provincial Park, is implicit 218,000 hectares.

Hayward said portion that blaze continues to pain actively connected its north and westbound sides, residents successful immoderate different areas adjacent were capable to instrumentality location recently, arsenic crews person gotten bully power connected those sections of the fire.

Good advancement is being made connected an out-of-control occurrence that's present implicit 21,500 hectares successful the Split Lake area, northeast of Thompson, portion different successful the Lynn water portion is implicit 71,000 hectares, with the northbound fractional actively burning but the southbound part, person to the community, looking better, she said.

Another blaze successful the Cross Lake country that's astir 64,000 hectares has been stable, meaning it's not increasing importantly implicit time, Hayward said.

Meanwhile, 2 different fires successful occidental Manitoba person had their presumption change, with 1 adjacent Wanless deemed nether power and different adjacent to Grand Rapids being held, she said.

'Could get worse from here, I won't sugarcoat it'

As for what the remainder of the summertime whitethorn clasp for wildfires successful Manitoba, that's much hard to predict, Hayward said.

"I privation I had a crystal ball, arsenic I usually say," she said, adding what's wide is the semipermanent forecast shows prolonged periods of warmer than mean temperatures and a anticipation of little than mean precipitation.

"We're coming into a play wherever we spot a batch of thunderstorms and a batch of lighting passing through. So, you know, things could get worse from here, I won't sugarcoat it — but hopefully they don't."

WATCH | Thursday's Manitoba wildfire update:

To date, the state has recorded 124 fires this outpouring — supra the 20-year mean of 118 for this clip of year, she said. The full country burned successful Manitoba this twelvemonth is present implicit 902,000 hectares.

The state present has 297 radical from extracurricular Manitoba helping with the wildfire effort, including immoderate from Newfoundland and Labrador and from Parks Canada. Most are from U.S. national and authorities agencies, including firefighters from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, Hayward said.

Find the latest wildfire information:

• Canadian wildfire map.
• Province of Manitoba occurrence bulletins.
• CBC's wildfire tracker.
• Communities nether evacuation in Manitoba.

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