Manitoba town declares state of local emergency amid wildfire

A Manitoba town has declared a state of local emergency as a forest fire burns close to the community.

In a Facebook post on Monday, the Town of Leaf Rapids said it is organizing evacuations to Thompson as the fire is about eight kilometres away and near the hydro line.

It added that the wind direction is expected to change, which will have an impact on the community’s air quality.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a special air quality statement for the area, saying the smoke from the forest fires in the area is causing elevated air pollution.

The weather agency said the smoke is expected to continue on Tuesday as dry conditions in the area have helped the fires remain active.

The smoke plume is expected to shift north on Tuesday night due to southerly winds from a low-pressure system coming into the area.

 

Dawn Halcrow, owner of the Churchill River Lodge in Leaf Rapids, said the last two mornings have been especially smoky in the community “We’ve got all our buildings’ sprinkler systems. We’ve got firefighters here gassing up the pumps, keeping them going,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.

“Leaf Rapids has been evacuated. I’ve since evacuated our clients and I’m gearing up to house some firefighters here.”

Halcrow said it’s a scary situation to have a wildfire this close to her community, because she knows the destruction that fire can bring.

“I’ve been through forest fires in the past, in the 90s, and I’ve seen the damage it can do and the lives that have been lost,” Halcrow said.

“So I am quite aware. I am fully prepared to do what I have to do here to again accommodate the firefighters and keep these pumps going and pray for the best.”

She noted that she’s hopeful about the situation, but “it’s definitely a disaster.”

The Manitoba government said there are currently 43 active wildfires in the province, including four new ones in the past 24 hours.

The fire that is close to Leaf Rapids is about 10,500 hectares.

Crews from the Emergency Management Organization and the Office of the Fire Commissioner are setting up sprinklers and hoses in the community and at some nearby cabins.

The state of local emergency went into effect on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre.