Return of Tataskweyak wildfire evacuees on hold for at least a week due to water treatment issues

Rosanna Hempel · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 9:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

It could beryllium astatine slightest different week earlier wildfire evacuees from a bluish Manitoba First Nation are capable to spell home, enactment says.

After lifting its evacuation bid Monday, Tataskweyak Cree Nation declared a authorities of exigency the adjacent greeting implicit concerns with its h2o attraction plant. 

The First Nation's enactment held a Facebook unrecorded connected Wednesday, telling assemblage members not to instrumentality location until the issues person been resolved.

Chief Doreen Spence said the community's h2o was unopen disconnected after tests connected discoloured h2o samples from June 4 came back astir 2 weeks later, indicating precocious levels of aluminum successful the water.

She said experts volition bash an appraisal of the works connected Thursday, which she hoped would supply accusation connected adjacent steps and a timeline.

In the meantime, the h2o isn't harmless for drinking, bathing oregon crockery washing.

"Coming back, too, volition beryllium harder connected you guys," Spence said.

"We don't truly person indispensable unit present close present to present water. We're conscionable moving connected that close now."

Spence acknowledged the longer hold would beryllium challenging for evacuees, who were sent to Brandon, Thompson and Winnipeg, arsenic good arsenic Niagara Falls, Ont., erstwhile the assemblage issued an evacuation bid connected May 30.

"I cognize it's truly hard for you guys to each beryllium retired there. I cognize everybody wants to travel home," Spence said.

"The conditions close present are not perfect astatine this time, similar we don't adjacent person … each of our indispensable unit close now."

That includes wellness attraction services offered by nurses, on with garbage prime up, she said. A planned community-wide powerfulness outage is besides scheduled implicit the adjacent 5 days, opening from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. connected Thursday, successful portion to licence Manitoba Hydro to repair structures, Spence said.

The Crown corp says aggregate inferior poles were damaged by the wildfire, which is astir 22,000 hectares successful size, arsenic per the Manitoba government's Wednesday occurrence bulletin.

The state continues to database the occurrence as out of control, but the First Nation says it's mostly contained, isolated from immoderate smoke.

For radical who person already travel home, enactment said they person 400 aerial purifiers, immoderate bottled h2o and 200 generators connected hand.

In the meantime, Spence urged acrophobic oregon distressed evacuees to interaction assembly members.

"Being distant from your assemblage and your household and friends has evidently taken a toll connected your wellness mentally," she said.

Chief says much edifice rooms needed

As the assemblage evacuation approaches the three-week mark, Spence said assembly continues to plead with the Canadian Red Cross to get edifice rooms for each evacuees.

Leadership estimated they needed 100 much rooms and said the Red Cross had committed to unafraid them this week.

"I cognize it's highly frustrating for you guys to not person a edifice room, and we've been saying that implicit and implicit again," Spence said, adding that radical who didn't person 1 should get successful interaction with the assembly if they hadn't already.

"You guys each merit to beryllium successful edifice rooms already."

Spence said she had besides inquired with Indigenous Services Canada to spot if evacuees who've covered hotels and meals retired of pouch volition beryllium reimbursed, and urged radical to clasp connected to their receipts.

The First Nation is besides pushing for evacuee benefits to beryllium extended different 2 weeks, portion it manages the h2o attraction issues, she said.