Norway House evacuates personal care home due to wildfire smoke, deteriorating air quality

Gavin Axelrod · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 10:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Norway House Cree Nation moved residents of a idiosyncratic attraction location successful the assemblage southbound Tuesday, arsenic fume from adjacent wildfires continues to stroke successful and aerial prime deteriorates. 

More than a twelve residents who unrecorded astatine the Pinaow Wachi idiosyncratic attraction home in Norway House were evacuated to a installation successful Winnipeg, astir 460 kilometres to the south, that's besides owned by the First Nation. The elders who near the assemblage were accompanied by their caretakers connected a Canadian Armed Forces C-130 Hercules aircraft. 

"There's unpredictable things happening successful and astir Norway House," Chief Larson Anderson told CBC News Tuesday afternoon.

"We're not successful information of fires — conscionable it's the fume that's truly much of an issue."

Norway House isn't nether evacuation order, but is nether an evacuation notice, with radical ordered to beryllium acceptable to leave.

The attraction location was evacuated "to beryllium connected the harmless side," said Anderson. The community has been doing voluntary evacuations since past week, allowing elders, young children and immoderate adults to get alleviation from the smoke, helium said.

Around 150 voluntary evacuees person been moved retired of the assemblage truthful far, Anderson said.

Evacuation continues for Pimicikamak residents

Norway House is besides the impermanent location for galore residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation — besides known arsenic Cross Lake — who were given a mandatory evacuation bid to permission their homes connected May 28.

Some from Pimicikamak — astir 70 kilometres northbound of Norway House — were flown retired of the assemblage astatine that point, but precocious winds and fume grounded flights.

The remaining 6,500 residents were told to caput to Norway House, adjacent though the assemblage was lone expecting 1,000 people. 

The Canadian Armed Forces said Tuesday it has evacuated much than 3,500 radical from occurrence zones successful the province, with enactment successful the past 24 hours taking radical from Pimicikamak to Winnipeg and from Pukatawagan, successful northwestern Manitoba, to The Pas.

The national authorities and the Canadian Armed Forces proceed evacuation efforts for Pimicikamak and the assemblage of Cross Lake, with aggregate agencies participating successful the response, on with assemblage members and the section occurrence department, the state said successful its Tuesday occurrence bulletin. 

The out-of-control occurrence near Pimicikamak Cree Nation is astir 5 kilometres distant from the assemblage and astir 2,300 hectares successful size, the bulletin said.

Manitoba's wildfire work is presently warring 27 progressive wildfires crossed the province, and has seen 111 wildfires to day — good supra the mean of 88 for this clip of year.

Samantha Folster, Cross Lake's co-ordinator for the Norway House evacuation, estimated 100 radical from the assemblage who went to Norway House person chosen to enactment there. For the clip being, nary further planes volition travel to instrumentality Pimicikamak residents to Winnipeg, she said. 

WATCH | Norway House PCH evacuated:

"We've fixed them the accidental to travel to the airport, we've called them, I've used social media to pull them to come," said Folster.

"Some of them stayed behind.  They person a batch of adjacent household here, truthful they've decided to enactment successful the assemblage for whatever magnitude that they consciousness they can stay," she said.

"Hopefully we don't person an evacuation [order]."

Norway House watching occurrence situation

Meanwhile, the fume successful Norway House has been causing debased visibility, truthful overmuch truthful that Norway House nonmigratory Dean Robertson had occupation adjacent seeing the trees crossed from his house.

"There's been immoderate ash falling since past nighttime a small bit, and I went to look astatine my vehicle — it benignant of had a small spot of soot covering connected it," helium said.

Robertson said with the assemblage connected an evacuation notice, he's been getting essentials like clothing acceptable to spell and has made definite to capable his car with gas. 

Chief Anderson said Norway House has created ample occurrence breaks arsenic well, successful lawsuit a blaze comes adjacent the community. Sprinklers and h2o hoses person been acceptable up connected buildings too. 

"It will bargain america clip … if the occurrence ever gets to that point," helium said.

Find the latest wildfire accusation astatine these sources:

• Canadian wildfire map
• Province of Manitoba occurrence bulletins
• CBC's wildfire tracker