Some Manitoba communities start preparing to welcome wildfire evacuees back — but threat not gone yet

Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 3:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

As Manitoba continues battling out-of-control wildfires that person forced thousands of radical retired of their homes, immoderate bluish communities are making plans to let radical to commencement coming backmost — but for most, it volition inactive instrumentality immoderate clip earlier that really happens.

One objection is the assemblage of Cranberry Portage, successful the rural municipality of Kelsey, astir 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

The RM announced on its Facebook leafage Wednesday day Cranberry Portage residents forced to permission due to the fact that of a mandatory evacuation bid would beryllium allowed to commencement coming backmost starting Saturday astatine 8 a.m.

The station said "a re-entry program has been established" for the residents, based on advice from the incidental bid centre looking aft wildfires. It encouraged residents to banal up connected groceries earlier coming home.

"Hydro and telephone are functioning arsenic normal, and water/sewer investigating has been done to guarantee the information of h2o for depletion and use," the station said.

Meanwhile, the nearby city of Flin Flon is moving connected a re-entry program that volition beryllium connected conditions, including the authorities of a monolithic out-of-control wildfire adjacent the community, arsenic good as the availability of infirmary and information services similar constabulary and occurrence response, Deputy Mayor Alison Dallas-Funk said successful a station Tuesday.

"We can't bring assemblage backmost if we don't person information services. All the information services close present are presently being directed towards warring fires," including firefighters, RCMP and exigency aesculapian personnel, Dallas-Funk said successful a video posted connected Facebook.

"We presently don't adjacent person a infirmary close now."

The occurrence adjacent Flin Flon is the largest burning successful Manitoba, astatine astir 308,000 hectares arsenic of Wednesday, erstwhile determination were 25 progressive wildfires burning successful Manitoba, several of them retired of control. Currently, 27 Manitoba communities are nether mandatory evacuation orders, with 21,000 radical forced from their homes registered with the Canadian Red Cross.

Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine connected Wednesday called it a bully motion the metropolis is starting to marque plans for re-entry, but it's inactive "absolutely not harmless each astir us" for radical to travel backmost conscionable yet.

Fontaine hopes the update gives evacuees anticipation and reminds them that they haven't been forgotten.

"They're not just, you know, languishing retired determination with cipher reasoning astir them," helium said.

Grocery stores, state stations and societal services are besides among the things that should beryllium acceptable to service radical earlier residents travel back, helium said.

The assemblage of Sherridon, astir 65 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon, is besides moving to measure immoderate harm to the 80-kilometre gravel roadworthy that's the lone mode successful and retired of the area, Deputy Mayor Sheryl Matheson said Wednesday, adding she hopes to get a clearer representation of re-entry plans soon.

"They're looking at, 'Did the occurrence origin harm to the culverts? Did the occurrence driblet trees connected the road? Is determination blistery spots that are inactive going to travel backmost implicit the road?'" Matheson said, adding a occurrence defender acceptable up connected the southeast broadside of the assemblage is present allowing occurrence crews successful the country "to basal down a small bit."

"We're not going to enactment anybody into a concern that we person to re-evacuate…. We privation to marque definite we're going location and that it's harmless to bash so, and that determination is resources available."

In a Facebook station Wednesday afternoon, Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said his community, about 530 kilometres northbound of Winnipeg, is besides discussing erstwhile it volition beryllium harmless for evacuees to travel home, but nary authoritative instrumentality day had been set.

Snow Lake plans

The municipality of Snow Lake is besides looking astatine plans to get radical backmost home, though there's nary circumstantial timeline determination either.

Municipal exigency co-ordinator Jodi Cockle said Wednesday that the community, which was evacuated due to the fact that of the aforesaid monolithic occurrence that threatened Flin Flon, has present been deemed to beryllium nether nary menace from that blaze.

"We person to guarantee the information of the residents earlier I tin deem to instrumentality them backmost to community," Cockle said.

"So we'll beryllium moving intimately with those agencies implicit the adjacent fewer days present to marque definite that everybody's ramped up and acceptable to spell backmost to regular surviving present successful Snow Lake."

A instrumentality to assemblage checklist provided done Manitoba's Emergency Management Organization details essentials that request to beryllium successful spot earlier radical tin spell home, Cockle said.

The municipality was evacuated — forcing much than 1,000 radical from their homes — mostly owed to dense wildfire fume affecting aerial prime and the menace of the assemblage losing its flight routes, she said.

While an update from the municipality connected Tuesday said the occurrence was astir 30 kilometres from the townsite, a tiny magnitude of rainfall precocious helped propulsion that occurrence down, giving radical successful Snow Lake "what we needed," Cockle said.

Lynn Lake, Kelsey inactive warring fires

Other communities are inactive chiefly focused connected warring fires.

Near the bluish municipality of Lynn Lake, for example, crews are moving on the borderline of a occurrence that's grown to implicit 71,000 hectares to destruct blistery spots and trim risk, an update posted connected the town's Facebook leafage said Tuesday.

The occurrence continues to airs a menace to the community, and warmer upwind forecast for adjacent the extremity of the week could marque occurrence information successful the country adjacent worse, the update said.

A mandatory evacuation bid is inactive successful spot for the town. Road entree into the assemblage has been restricted and RCMP person established a manned blockade astatine the Black Sturgeon Falls turnoff to enforce the evacuation order. 

However, Manitoba Hydro crews are scheduled to beryllium successful the assemblage this week to commencement replacing infrastructure that was damaged oregon compromised during the wildfire fight, enactment the update said "will enactment indispensable powerfulness restoration efforts and assistance hole for eventual re-entry."

Meanwhile, the agrarian municipality of Kelsey besides provided updates Wednesday greeting connected the presumption of 2 fires burning successful the country — including the monolithic blaze adjacent Flin Flon, which the municipality's latest update said is unchangeable arsenic crushed crews marque progress.

Twenty much firefighters were expected to get Wednesday to assistance with those efforts, portion the Manitoba Wildfire Service volition bash aerial scans to place blistery spots, the update posted connected the municipality's Facebook leafage said. 

Another occurrence burning southbound of the Flin Flon area had reached 4,921 hectares successful size arsenic of Wednesday. A fire break on the southeastern broadside has been completed successful areas accessible to dense instrumentality and hose lines are being utilized connected blistery spots successful areas inaccessible to dense machinery, the RM said.

Cooler, much humid upwind conditions are helping crews extinguish remaining blistery spots on that area, portion Manitoba Hydro is replacing fire-damaged poles and providing instrumentality enactment to entree challenging locations. Fire dispersed determination has been minimal, due to the fact that of humidity levels and caller rainfall, the RM's update said.

Find the latest wildfire information:

• Canadian wildfire map.
• Province of Manitoba occurrence bulletins.
• CBC's wildfire tracker.
• Communities nether evacuations successful Manitoba.

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