The number of forest fire evacuees in Manitoba has increased, more likely, since a handful of communities remains on alert.
“The numbers have continued to grow. We were saying 17,000. I think we can now assume that it is north of that number,” said Prime Minister Wab Kinew in CBC Manitoba’s Information radio Thursday morning.
He did not have an estimate of the total, but said that about 16,800 people are now registered in the Canadian Red Cross.
“And keep in mind that not everyone registered with us. Some people simply make the decision that will keep the family,” Kinew said.
Eight days have passed since he declared an emergency state throughout the province due to the rapid spread of forest fires and extreme fire conditions in the north and east of Manitoba. Since then, the northwest part of the province has also become a danger zone.
There are 15 communities under mandatory evacuation orders and three others under voluntary evacuation.
Three others, Snow Lake, Norway House and Chemawawin Cree Nation (Easterville), are low alerts or evacuation warnings, with people ordered to be ready to leave with little in advance.
“We are in a new reality when it comes to forest fires. In general, we would have a part of the province that deals with challenges and … there would be, as, perhaps two communities in evacuation in other summers. This year, it is every region at the same time,” Kinew said.
“So that is something that we must plan in the future.”
The rhythm to which everything has been happening has also opened an unfortunate door to erroneous information on social networks, Kinew said. To combat that, the province will launch a digital information portal later on Thursday.
“It is surprising during an emergency state how quickly false statements can reach social networks that really withdraw the time and resources of people who would otherwise be coordinating an evacuation effort or responding to real forest fires,” Kinew said.
Forest fires have been burning in northern Manitoba since the end of May, when an emergency was declared throughout the province. Note how the CBC meteorological specialist Riley Laychuk tracks the fires that threaten the Flin Flon, Sherridon and Pukatawagan communities.
Three days after the evacuation last week of the city of Flin Flon, rumors sprouted on social networks about killed firefighters while fighting the fire.
“I realize that people are driven by stress in some cases, and in other cases by a compassionate response to try to obtain information, but … having the additional stress that false information is shared on social networks was counterproductive,” Kinew said.
The province’s information portal “will be a reliable source of fire information, where to find evacuation supports, how [people] It can help in the answer, “he said.
The province will also begin to maintain regular, but not necessarily daily, news sessions. The first one is scheduled for 12:45 pm on Thursday.
Until Wednesday (the most recent data available), a total of 513,803 hectares had burned in the province. Last year at this time, 43,141 hectares had been affected.
The report of the Manitoba fire situation shows that there are 27 active forest fires and a total of 111 fires to date, which is well above the average of 91 for this time of the year.
Kinew on Thursday also defended the decision of the province to send evacuated to Ontario, addressing the criticisms that suggested that Manitoba was not prepared to respond to the lawsuit.
“That is Manitoba’s response, just to be clear,” he said. The province hired a private company to administer the evacuation response, “and found rooms in Niagara.”
“Previously in this same season of forest fires, Ontario had no rooms and we housed more than 1,000 ontarium evacuated here. I think one of the things we are seeing this year is that we have to have a panprovincial response, a national response, only given the scale of the emergency we face.”
The ability to attract people, in a week, out of danger and in shelters and provide wrapping supports is a testimony of the emergency management team in Manitoba and partners such as Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said the municipal leaders of Manitoba Keewatinowi, Kinew.
One of the other challenges that the province has had to address is to ensure that thousands of evacuees, especially those in main centers such as Winnipeg, remain safe from exploitation.
“It is one of the very disturbing things of this, which even in the middle of the vast and vast majority of mannitobans intensify and donate or are volunteers, that there is a small group of people who are also trying to present themselves and take advantage of the evacuees,” Kinew said.
“You can let your mind roam for some of the really bad behaviors that this could cover.”
To counteract that, security guards and other resources have been installed around evacuation centers, and the police are working with the security officers of the first nations, he said.
“If there is an ongoing criminal act, there will be responsibility. Someone will be arrested,” Kinew said.
And then there is what he calls “a fourth layer of response”, which means help from community groups in Winnipeg, such as the center’s community security association, the Bear and Ogojiita clan Pimatiswin Kinamatwin (OPK), an organization led by indigenous people that supports young people at risk affected by gangs, population and violence.
“We have been working with them to ensure that, in some cases, that they areolate the security layer around people to protect them from bad actors,” Kinew said.
“In other cases, it is someone who fights, and we have a crisis stabilization unit, public health nurses and, you know, medical professionals in each of these sites of shelters and reception centers.”
Mandatory evacuations are in place for:
- The bakers narrow.
- Big Island Lake.
- Bissett
- Portage of blueberry.
- Flin Flon.
- Little athapapuskow cottage area.
- Lynn Lake.
- Marcel Colombia Nation (Sturgeon Black).
- Nopiming Provincial Park.
- Parts of the Whiteshell Provincial Park.
- Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake).
- Pukatawagan (Mathias Colomb Cree Nation).
- Schist Lake.
- Sherridon.
- Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake).
Voluntary evacuation orders are in force for:
- OPASKKAKEKE CREE Nation.
- Snow lake
- Wanless.
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.
Find the latest forest fire information:
