Pukatawagan residents arrive in Winnipeg as evacuation continues

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 01, 2025 12:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Dozens of Pukatawagan residents who took a astir 16-hour bid thrust to Winnipeg were among the latest to flight the assemblage days aft a wildfire forced the evacuation of the bluish Manitoba First Nation.

A Via Rail bid carrying astir 120 wildfire evacuees — astir of them from Pukatawagan — arrived successful Winnipeg from The Pas astir 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday.

Pukatawagan, also known arsenic Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, is astir 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, arsenic the crow flies. The occurrence adjacent the assemblage was astir 9,800 hectares successful size arsenic of the province's latest occurrence bulletin Saturday.

River Caribou said the travel connected the bid was the extremity of a chaotic exit from the community, which has been nether an evacuation bid since Wednesday, erstwhile the Manitoba authorities declared a provincewide authorities of emergency.

"Everybody was successful an alarm," Caribou said. "We were enactment into The Pas and they accommodated america into an arena.… We were determination for astir possibly 12 hours and past we boarded the bid to Winnipeg."

Premier says immoderate evacuees heading to Ontario

The Manitoba government said it expected much than 17,000 radical to beryllium evacuated from their communities erstwhile it declared the authorities of emergency, with the bulk coming to Winnipeg.

Premier Wab Kinew, who was astatine Winnipeg's Pride Parade Sunday, said about 3,500 evacuees volition beryllium heading to hotels successful confederate Ontario, with astir 300 leaving for that state connected Sunday.

"We'll person a clump of rooms coming online [in Manitoba] connected Tuesday," Kinew said astatine the parade. "Today, we're focused connected moving radical retired of Pukatawagan and Norway House and folks from Split Lake who are successful Gilliam close now. But erstwhile we're talking astir the occurrence combat … it's a truly aggravated time overall."

During an unrelated lawsuit successful Calgary Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked volunteers, archetypal responders, and national and provincial officials for their efforts successful Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

"These wood fires person been very, precise challenging: distant communities, isolated, request for large-scale evacuations," Carney said. "The bully quality is those are proceeding good astatine this stage, but of people it's not implicit til it's implicit and we're astatine the commencement of the wood occurrence play crossed the country."

Chinook flights continue

Coun. Kelly Linklater said astir 1,300 radical had been moved retired of Pukatawagan as of Sunday morning, but there's inactive much than 1,000 who inactive request to beryllium evacuated.

"As of this morning, determination are 3 Chinooks that are going up there," Linklater said Sunday during an interrogation connected Rosemary Barton Live. "Fortunately, the winds person changed and moved. Two days ago, they were moving into the community."

WATCH | Military steps successful to assistance airlift immoderate Pukatawagan residents retired of harm's way:

The Canadian Armed Forces began flying retired Pukatawagan residents connected Chinook helicopters on Saturday.

Pukatawagan's lone airstrip — which unopen down connected Thursday due to the fact that of dense fume — reopened Saturday morning, but the First Nation's main Gordie Bear the runway is excessively tiny to accommodate ample aircraft.

Cornelia Colomb said she got connected a chopper Saturday afternoon.

"There's times that you look retired the surviving country window, you could spot the flames," she said.

"Keeping the household unneurotic was our [first] precedence and keeping calm was our second."

Linklater said the First Nation's enactment expected evacuation efforts to wrapper up Sunday. Evacuees person besides been transported to Portage La Prairie, Brandon and The Pas.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation adjacent The Pas opened up its hallway and arena to accommodate immoderate evacuees.

"We're successful a presumption wherever we, of course, we're going to help," OCN Chief Maureen Brown said Saturday.

"We've really had to physique the makeshift exigency infirmary country astatine our section hall. I'd similar to springiness a outcry retired to our teams that assemble truthful efficiently."

OCN begins voluntary evacuation owed to smoke

But connected Sunday, that First Nation announced it was starting voluntary self-evacuation owed to mediocre aerial prime successful the region.

A wildfire astir five kilometres westbound of the assemblage and neighbouring The Pas — archetypal reported astir a period ago — was much than 40,000 hectares successful size arsenic of Saturday, according to the province's FireView map. The occurrence was declared to beryllium nether power connected May 23.

OCN said successful a quality merchandise the voluntary self-evacuation is specifically for aged residents and radical with pre-existing aesculapian conditions.

It said the assemblage is not successful immoderate information owed to wildfires, but that aerial prime is expected to fluctuate successful the coming days.

Tracy Dumas has been volunteering to assistance retired radical arsenic they arrived successful Winnipeg, making definite they person nutrient and a spot to stay.

"People were constricted to worldly truthful they request clothes," she said. "They request hygiene stuff. They request underwear, socks."

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