Doctors of Pukatawagan residents who took a train trip of almost 16 hours to Winnipeg were among the last to escape the community days after a forest fire forced the evacuation of the first nation of northern Manitoba.
A railway train that transported about 120 evacuated forest fires, most of them from Pukatawagan, arrived in Winnipeg from the PAS around 7:30 pm CT on Saturday.
Pukatawagan, also known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, is about 700 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, while the crow flies. The fire near the community had approximately 9,800 hectares of size to the last fire bulletin of the province on Saturday.
River Caribau said that the trip on the train was the end of a chaotic departure from the community, which has been under an evacuation order since Wednesday, when the Manitoba government declared an emergency state throughout the province.
“All were alarmed,” Caribou said. “They put us in the country and accommodated us in a sand … we were there for about 12 hours and then boarded the train to Winnipeg.”
Premier says that some evacuees are directed to Ontario
The Manitoba government said that more than 17,000 people were evacuated from their communities when it declared the state of emergency, and most arrived in Winnipeg.
Prime Minister Wab Kinew, who was in the Winnipeg pride parade on Sunday, said some 3,500 evacuees will go to hotels in southern Ontario, with around 300 leaving that province on Sunday.
“We will have a lot of rooms online [in Manitoba] On Tuesday, “Kinew said in the parade.” Today, we are focused on getting people from Pukatawagan and Norway House and Split Lake people who are in Gilliam at this time. But when we are talking about the fire fight … it is a really intense day in general. “
During an unrelated event in Calgary on Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney thanked the volunteers, lifeguards and federal and provincial officials for their efforts in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
“These forest fires have been very, very challenging: remote communities, isolated, need for large -scale evacuations,” said Carney. “The good news is that they are advancing well at this stage, but, of course, it is not over until it ends and we are at the beginning of the forest fire season throughout the country.”
Chinook flights continue
Lawyer Kelly Linklater said about 1,300 people had been transferred from Pukatawagan until Sunday morning, but there are still more than 1,000 that still need to be evacuated.
“As of this morning, there are three Chinese who are going up there,” Linklater said Sunday during an interview in Rosemary Barton Live. “Fortunately, the winds have changed and moved. Two days ago, they were moving to the community.”
Since an evacuation order was issued on Wednesday due to a forest fire that affects the Nation Mathias Colomb Cree, also known as Pukatawagan, thousands of people have been waiting to be flown. Military airplanes flew to residents during the weekend to the PAS, the man, from where 120 evacuated could take a railway train to Winnipeg on Sunday.
The Canadian armed forces began to fly to Pukatawagan residents in Chinook helicopters on Saturday.
The only landing floor of Pukatawagan, which closed on Thursday due to the strong smoke, reopened on Saturday morning, but the head of the first nation, Gordie Bear The Runway is too small to accommodate large planes.
Cornelia Colomb said he got into a helicopter on Saturday afternoon.
“There are times when you look out the window window, you can see the flames,” he said.
“Keep the family together was ours [first] The priority and keeping calm was our second. “
Linklater said the leadership of the first nation awaited evacuation efforts to conclude on Sunday. The evacuees have also been transported to Portage La Prairie, Brandon and the PAS.
OPASKWayako Cree Nation near the Pas opened his hall and his sand to accommodate some evacuees.
“We are in a position in which, of course, we are going to help,” said OCN’s boss, Maureen Brown, Saturday.
“In fact, we have had to build the improvised emergency hospital room in our local hall. I would like to scream to our teams that gather so efficiently.”
OCN begins voluntary evacuation due to smoke
But on Sunday, that first nation announced that voluntary self -evacuation began due to poor air quality in the region.
A forest fire about five kilometers west of the community and neighbor of the PAS, first informed for the first time almost a month ago, had more than 40,000 hectares of size from Saturday, according to the Fireview map of the province. It was declared that the fire was under control on May 23.
OCN said in a press release that voluntary self -evacuation is specifically for elderly residents and people with pre -existing medical conditions.
He said that the community is not in danger due to forest fires, but that air quality is expected to fluctuate in the next few days.
Tracy Dumas has been voluntary to help people when they arrived in Winnipeg, making sure they have food and a place to stay.
“People were limited to things, so they need clothes,” he said. “They need hygiene things. They need underwear, socks.”
Are you an evacuation that needs help? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from any place in Manitoba or send an email to 211mb@findhelp.ca.
