Prairie wildfires force another Manitoba town to evacuate

Wildfires in the prairies continue to rage on, threatening communities and prompting yet another town in Manitoba to evacuate by Tuesday morning.

Three-hundred twenty-eight people from northern Manitoba had to evacuate by Tuesday morning with an out of control fire just 14 kilometres away.

“The province is actively working in Leaf Rapids and has been actively engaging with the community,” says Christine Stevens with Manitoba’s Emergency Management Organization.

“There are boots on the ground in the community that are working to coordinate the evacuation. Transportation has been arranged. Folks who require additional needs have been identified and will be supported through the evacuation.”

Over 600 Firefighters continue to battle the 81 wildfires that are burning across Manitoba.

READ MORE: Wildfires across Canada threaten multiple communities to evacuate

“We’ve had 235 fires to date. The 20 year average for this date is 187,” says Kristin Hayward from Conservation Officer Service and Manitoba Wildfire Service.

Anabela Bonada with the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation says that the wildfires we’re seeing this year are similar to what we saw in 2023, which was the worst year on record.

“We’re seeing these evacuations in Manitoba, many more wildfires occurring in Manitoba than what is normal this time of year. Normal is based on a 20 year average from what we’ve seen before,” Bonada says.

Although wildfire activity is something that naturally occurs in Canada, Bonada says people are building communities closer to where these fires could happen.

“Right now, southern Ontario is super lucky, we’re not having a dry year. But if we had a dry year and then we had a storm occur or an accidental fire started by human cause, that fire could quickly spread because we have forests in all our areas,” says Bonada.

The heavy smoke in the prairies has led to Environment Canada issuing air quality warnings for neighbouring provinces.

“We saw an increase in alerts early this year through June as there was significant smoke across Ontario and Manitoba and the prairies,” says Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist from Environment Canada.

“We saw heightened activity through 2023 where there was similar type of wildfire activity and increased smoke making its way across the country so it is a year to year difference.”

Flisfeder says it’s important to remember to follow air quality safety recommendations like limiting your time outdoors when a warning is in effect.

READ MORE: Fire protection non-profit warns Canada’s wildfire situation is ‘severe’