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2w ago

Manitoba Declares Second Emergency as Wildfires Trigger Evacuations, B.C. Fire Held Before Storms

Military, provincial agencies are mobilizing airlifts to move remote northern residents before forecast thunderstorms, high winds increase fire risks

Smoke billows from a small wildfire burning in a neighbourhood near the Kelowna International Airport in B.C.
The northern Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents due to encroaching wildfires.
Then-NDP candidate, now B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar answers questions from the media while in Langford, B.C., on Thursday, May 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
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Overview

  • Premier Wab Kinew invoked a second provincewide state of emergency to deploy Canadian Armed Forces support for evacuations in Snow Lake and Garden Hill First Nation
  • Snow Lake’s mayor ordered a second mandatory evacuation, with residents flown nearly seven hours to Winnipeg as high winds pushed flames within eight kilometres
  • Ottawa approved airlifts for Garden Hill First Nation, where more than 3,000 fly-in residents face imminent wildfire threat and reception centers are being set up
  • Manitoba Wildfire Service has recorded 252 blazes this season, exceeding the five-year average of 194 and straining provincial and federal firefighting resources
  • In British Columbia, crews have contained the Izman Creek fire near Lytton to “being held” status while officials warn of forecast lightning and gusts up to 60 km/h that could spark new outbreaks