Manitoba battling two wildfires around Flin Flon and The Pas, evacuation orders in effect

The province says several government agencies are currently responding to two wildfires around Flin Flon and The Pas.

In a fire bulletin released Sunday, the province confirmed evacuation orders have been issued for a number of homes and cottages in the area, and nearby residents are being asked to be prepared should the situation worsen.

It says the fires are extra impactful due to drought conditions and high winds.

Cranberry Portage began the process of evacuating to The Pas last night, and around 500 residents are currently affected.

Officials say the Rural Municipality of Kelsey has established a reception centre at the Wescana Inn to register evacuees assist with accommodations.

A reception centre is also available at the Victoria Inn in Flin Flon to help evacuees from multiple areas including Sourdough Bay, Twin Lakes Cottage, Whitefish Lake Cottage, Schist Last North Cottage, Bakers Cottage and Bakers Narrows Provincial Park.

Since Saturday evening, the fire near Flin Flon has grown to encompass around 35,000 hectares, and is 38 km long and 12 km wide, and the province says it has moved to within one kilometer of Cranberry Portage.

Provincial Trunk Highway (PTH) 10 is closed off south of Cranberry Portage, and at Baker’s Narrows.

Access to Sherridon Road has also been impacted as the fire crossed a section of railway in the area.

The province will be receiving interprovincial support. Air tankers from Manitoba are joining ones from Saskatchewan, and additional crews from Ontario are expected to arrive in a day or two.

The fire near Wanless is now 1,500 hectares.

There is also a communication outage impacting Flin Flon, Sherridon and Sourdough Bay between Flin Flon and Cranberry Portage.

On Sunday afternoon Manitoba Hydro posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “a wildfire near Flin Flon has caused outages to Cranberry Portage, Bakers Narrows, and Sourdough Bay.”

The crown corporation does not know when power will be restored but will patrol “lines and substations for damage” when it is safe for its crews.