Residents forced out of Cranberry Portage after wildfires knock power, close highway, cripple air quality

CBC News

· Posted: May 31, 2025 12:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Hundreds of radical are being forced retired of their homes successful the northwestern Manitoba assemblage of Cranberry Portage aft a wildfire knocked retired powerfulness overnight. 

The full colonisation of Cranberry Portage should evacuate by 3 p.m. connected Saturday and spell to Winnipeg, said Lori Forbes, the municipal exigency co-ordinator for the Rural Municipality of Kelsey, which includes the community. 

Cranberry Portage, astir 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was enactment nether a voluntary evacuation bid earlier this week aft supplies and state started to tally out. Wildfires besides closed down a agelong of Highway 10 — the main entree way for the community. 

The concern worsened aft respective hydro poles were burned, leaving the assemblage without power connected Friday. Forbes said the longer the energy is retired the greater the hazard operations astatine the h2o attraction and sewage plants mightiness beryllium compromised. 

"The determination is made based connected wide services quality beings request to beryllium healthy," she said.

Manitoba Hydro said the grade of harm to powerfulness infrastructure is chartless astatine this time. The R.M. of Kelsey said the assemblage mightiness beryllium without energy for respective days. 

At slightest 430 radical are believed to beryllium successful Cranberry Portage, Forbes said, but the fig tin beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic 600 fixed there's a fig of cottagers and seasonal visitors this clip of the year. 

Before the mandatory evacuation was declared, 87 radical who near from their homes had registered with the R.M., Forbes said. 

Evacuees from Cranberry Portage are being asked to marque their mode retired utilizing Highways 39 and 6 to Winnipeg's Billy Mosienko Arena astatine 709 Keewatin Street. 

"We request radical to get up and move, to beryllium harmless and retired of the dangers up present close now," she said. 

Another information for the mandatory evacuation is the fume billowing from a wildfire burning astir 35 kilometres northwest Cranberry Portage. Forbes said dense plumes are choking the aerial with dense plumes of fume crippling aerial quality. 

That wildfire prompted the mandatory evacuation of Flin Flon earlier this week, forcing its astir 5,000 residents retired of their homes. The blaze was 40,000 hectares successful size and little than 400 metres from the borderline of the metropolis by Friday.  

No structural damages had been reported by Saturday morning, the metropolis said successful societal media update.

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