'Millions of flies': Food spoiling in Manitoba First Nation communities evacuated because of wildfires
First Nation communities evacuated due to wildfires in Manitoba will be coming home to a big mess of spoiled food after power was lost in many areas.
Ainsley Semple is one of the many people displaced from several First Nation communities. A resident of Berens River First Nation, Semple has been living in a Comfort Inn in Winnipeg for more than a week now.
"I was really rattled. Like, I came out last week Wednesday. I was supposed to get evacuated with everyone Monday/Tuesday, but my spouse is [initial attack crew] and works with the fires and I wanted to stay behind as long as I could," said Semple.
Semple said power was lost in the community the night before she left.
"We headed to the city, and I heard there were people going around the reserve emptying out freezers. So I had to phone the forestry, and they got the keys from (my husband) from the fire, they sent a chopper to get the keys, and a family member went to my house and emptied the fridge and the freezers."
When Semple's aunt and another community member went to empty her freezers, they found a large mess of spoiled food and bugs.
"They said when they entered the house, there were millions of flies and blood on the floor," Semple said. "They had to throw away one of my freezers that couldn't be saved."
Semple's aunt and the community member stayed all day to clean the house. Even after their hard work, Semple's floor is stained for good.
"I still want to go home. My home is my home," said Semple.
According to Semple, power has been restored to Berens River First Nation, but she has no idea when she'll be allowed back with several fires still raging near the community.
"I'm just scared for my reserve," she said. "The fire is crawling towards my reserve."
CTV News reached out to Manitoba Hydro on the holiday weekend for more information on the outages. This story will be updated when they respond.
-With files from CTV’s Danton Unger.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.