Fire in northwestern Ontario prompts evacuation order and alerts in Manitoba's Nopiming Provincial Park
People in parts of Nopiming Provincial Park remain on evacuation alert while cottagers in one subdivision have already been forced to leave.
The province said a wildfire burning in northwestern Ontario prompted the evacuation of cottages in the Davidson Lake subdivision near the Manitoba/Ontario border.
Meantime, people at Bird Lake, Flanders Lake and Booster Lake have been told to be ready to leave on short notice.
“So everybody’s taking it pretty seriously,” said Randy Hiebert, a cottage owner at Flanders Lake. “It’s really surreal. It’s not something that you would expect would happen in your own backyard.”
He’s one of several cottagers in Nopiming Provincial Park who got an evacuation alert Monday due to a wildfire in the area.
Photos of the previous family cottage that once sat on the same property, a key hanger made by his brother who recently died and a fur hat are among the items Hiebert packed up.
“You got so many memories, where do you start,” said Hiebert. “These are summer homes, these are winter homes, these are our vacation homes. Outside wherever you live, let’s say in Winnipeg, this is a good part of your life and you can’t just pack that up in short order.”
While Hiebert and his family haven’t been forced to leave yet, they decided to play it safe and prepare for the worst.
Cottagers and residents in Flanders Lake, Booster Lake and Bird Lake have all been told to be ready to leave on short notice.
“It’s really scary and that’s the bad part is we know how devastating this fire could be and how quickly it could spread,” Hiebert said.
People at Davidson Lake were ordered to evacuate by 4 p.m. Monday. Their cottages are closer to a fire burning in northwestern Ontario, which the province said is advancing towards the Manitoba border.
“Today the winds are good but it’s so big it keeps on moving towards the subdivision,” said Jeff Erwin, a structural protection specialist with the Manitoba Wildfire Service.
Crews went in to Davidson Lake with sprinklers to protect cottages and other structures but the only road in and out is now blocked off.
Over at Nopiming Lodge, owner Blaine Guenther is among those now on standby, told to be ready to leave his home and business at Bird Lake if the province expands the evacuation area.
“Keep your suitcase packed is what they’re saying,” said Guenther. “Problem is we live here, right. So we got all of our pictures and our discs and all that stuff, so we got a lot to pack if we have to move out.”
Backcountry camping is banned in Nopiming and fire restrictions remain in place.
Hiebert is hopeful him and his family will be able to return to their cottage when it’s safe and that it’ll be the way they left it when they do come back.
“The authorities are doing what they can but there’s Mother Nature and we just got to respect it and do our part and hope and pray that everything turns out for the best,” he said.
People front-country camping at Bird Lake and Tulabi Falls could also be ordered to leave but only if the evacuation area is expanded. Right now they’re allowed to stay. The province said campers will be notified if that changes.
There are currently 159 fires burning in the province. Nineteen of those are listed as out of control.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Ontario family releases statement on infant son, grandparents killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash
An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.