The Canadian Armed Forces says it’s evacuated over a thousand residents of a northern Manitoba community threatened by a wildfire, while towns and villages in the province are welcoming cooler weather they say is helping firefighters.
The military began removing people from Garden Hill First Nation on CC-130 Hercules transport airplanes on Friday, and it says that as of Sunday afternoon, over 1,550 have been flown to Winnipeg.
Capt. Wyatt Shorter with Joint Operations Command says there are no more people waiting to leave Garden Hill, but a Hercules is on standby in Winnipeg in case anyone else needs a flight out.
The community is about 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg and is not accessible by road.
Manitoba declared its second provincewide state of emergency of the year last week as wildfires continue to rage.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney says in a social media post that the federal government is working with First Nations and other orders of government to fight the fires, and stands ready to supply additional support.
“Wildfires have been worsening, especially across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. On behalf of Canadians, my ongoing gratitude to all the first responders on the front lines of this crisis,” Carney wrote.
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But communities like the City of Thompson, where residents are told to be ready to evacuate if conditions deteriorate, posted on social media on Sunday that light winds, low temperatures, rain and higher humidity are giving firefighting crews time to bolster defences.
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The community’s fire update on Sunday included an aerial photo of a nearby snowmobile shelter and outhouse, which the update said survived a low intensity burn that swept through the area earlier in the week.
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The update said Monday’s forecast was expected to be cool, and Environment Canada’s forecast says to expect a temperature of 16 C.
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Thompson is set to welcome 20 firefighters from Mexico to help fight nearby wildfires, and the city says an incident management team from Australia is arriving on Wednesday.
The Manitoba government said Friday over 12,000 people were out of their homes, and it gave notice that it intended to use Winnipeg’s major convention centre to house more evacuees.
The Canadian Red Cross said in a statement Sunday that it is co-ordinating logistics for congregate shelters in Winnipeg.
Canada’s emergency management minister said in a statement Sunday that over the weekend she approved an additional request for federal assistance from the provincial government.
Eleanor Olszewski noted the most recent assistance would be put toward humanitarian workforce support for emergency evacuation and sheltering activities.
“I am in regular contact with my counterpart in Manitoba. Our government will act fast if more help is needed,” Olszewski said.
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