Manitoba wildfire evacuees returning home thankful for rain

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 8:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Some residents of the agrarian municipality of Lac du Bonnet who person been capable to instrumentality location are thankful they're getting immoderate rain, adjacent arsenic officials pass they'll request much than that for wildfire conditions successful the state to truly improve.

The evacuation bid for imperishable residents surviving successful an country southbound of Wendigo Road successful the eastbound Manitoba municipality was lifted Wednesday evening, according to the RM of Lac du Bonnet website.

Re-entry was authorized for the Wendigo Road subdivisions and residences from Provincial Road 313 to Newcombe Road astatine 8 p.m. that night. The agrarian municipality said arsenic galore arsenic 50 families could present beryllium capable to travel backmost home.

Cathie Austen was staying astatine a friend's cottage erstwhile she heard residents successful the country would beryllium allowed backmost in. By 8 p.m., she was already lined up and acceptable to instrumentality home.

"We were like, 'Yay!'" she said. "[Doing] the aged blessed dance."

Environment Canada is reporting immoderate areas of confederate Manitoba received up to 70 millimetres of rainfall implicit the past 48 hours, though southeastern regions, including Lac du Bonnet, got little than 10 millimetres of rainfall arsenic of Friday morning.

But much rainfall is connected the mode — on with a somesthesia driblet — with the bureau forecasting a play of rainfall mixed with snowfall aft midnight Friday successful the area, and risk of freezing rainfall overnight.

Conditions improving successful Bird River

Jack Brisco, politician of the RM of Alexander — which is dealing with the largest of the wildfires presently progressive successful the province, successful the Nopiming area — said conditions person improved due to the fact that of the cooler and bedewed weather, though it besides caused immoderate problems Friday morning.

"Bombers from Manitoba, I cognize they had problems successful Gimli due to the fact that they're getting truthful overmuch rain," helium said. "We've had assistance from bombers from Ontario, truthful each of them are pitching successful and doing their champion to look aft this fire."

That fire, located astir 1 kilometre from Bird River, was astir 100,000 hectares, according to the province's latest occurrence bulletin, issued Friday afternoon.

About 100 firefighters are currently defensively battling the flames astir Bird River, Brisco said successful an interrogation with Radio Noon.

Close to 400 residences successful the agrarian municipality person been issued evacuation orders, with Brisco estimating up to 1,000 radical whitethorn person been forced retired of their homes oregon cottages.

The politician said he's hoping for a bully downpour of rainfall to assistance enactment retired the fire.

"The upwind is blowing from the northbound present … truthful it's going successful a small spot of a caller direction," helium said. "The conditions are better, but the upwind isn't truly helping retired close now."

The Lac du Bonnet area fire remained astatine astir 4,000 hectares arsenic of the latest occurrence bulletin. Travel is inactive restricted successful respective areas inactive nether evacuation order.

"The rainfall is helping, but evidently [there's still] tinder-dry conditions, there's histrion stumps and trees that are inactive connected fire, burning connected the inside," RM of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel said, adding that it whitethorn instrumentality 2 oregon 3 days earlier immoderate evacuation orders are changed, adjacent with cleanable weather.

"We are disquieted astir lives and property," Schinkel said. "We cognize that the occurrence successful that country flared up again last nighttime and Wildfire Services says we're not letting thing spell until we're definite it's each enactment retired and unafraid for the residents to return."

He's urging residents to beryllium diligent portion officials hold connected conditions to amended earlier lifting further evacuation orders.

"You would deliberation a small spot of moisture, you know, would assistance extinguish it — and it [does]. But we request this soaking rainfall for a fewer days to truly get power of it," helium said.

The wildfire successful the agrarian municipality killed 2 radical and has destroyed astatine slightest 28 buildings.

Ronald Runzer came back Friday to find his location was inactive standing, but his store and retention sheds were "burned into the ground."

"I see myself lucky," helium said. "Two of my neighbours died, and a fewer of them mislaid everything."