Pimicikamak Cree Nation lifting evacuation order, community members to start going home Monday

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 15, 2025 11:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation tin commencement heading location connected Monday, much than 3 weeks aft a adjacent wildfire forced the First Nation to commencement precautionary evacuations for its astir susceptible citizens. 

On Sunday afternoon, Chief David Monias announced successful a connection posted to Facebook that the First Nation, located astir 530 kilometres northbound of Winnipeg, was lifting its evacuation order. 

The assemblage is inactive nether a authorities of emergency. The wildfire nearest to the First Nation is inactive burning and determination is inactive smoke, Monias said. According to provincial wildfire data, that occurrence is astir 2,300 hectares successful size and is present being held arsenic of Saturday. 

Another wildfire southbound of Pimicikamak is much than 64,000 hectares successful size and it is inactive retired of control, according to the province. 

Monias said it whitethorn instrumentality a fewer weeks until the fires person afloat burned out, but helium was hopeful that dense rainfall and hail successful the country connected Sunday volition assistance firefighters connected the ground. 

No structures person been damaged by the wildfires, Monias said.

Evacuees who are capable to thrust back, tin commencement heading home, and the First Nation has been mounting up accounts with state stations on aggregate routes backmost to the community. 

About 500 assemblage members are expected to instrumentality connected Monday, helium said. 

"I was excited to archer them. I couldn't hold to archer them," Monias told CBC News connected Sunday. 

Officials assessed wildfire risks and air quality to guarantee it was harmless to instrumentality and that capable resources, similar nutrient and gas, would beryllium disposable erstwhile radical arrive. 

Monias said the astir 7,800 radical that unrecorded successful the First Nation assemblage volition instrumentality location successful a phased re-entry. 

Officials are moving to put buses and flights for thousands of evacuees that person sheltered crossed 2 provinces, from Thompson to Winnipeg to Niagara Falls, Ont. 

Vulnerable residents, including the aged and radical with respiratory issues, who near Pimicikamak successful priority evacuations, volition beryllium the past to instrumentality home. 

Those susceptible evacuees whitethorn beryllium capable to travel location by the extremity of the week, depending connected aerial prime some wrong and extracurricular the homes, helium said.

"As overmuch arsenic we similar Winnipeg, it's not our home," said Monias. 

"Everybody's looking guardant to going location and being together."