Thompson residents warned to pack essentials as possible evacuation of northern Manitoba hub looms

Yahoo

12-07-2025

Officials in Thompson are warning the roughly 13,000 residents of the northern Manitoba city to prepare for a possible evacuation in the coming days, as an out-of-control wildfire burns just north of the city.
On Friday, the municipality issued a pre-alert notice in a statement posted to Facebook saying residents should begin packing essentials so they're ready to go if an evacuation order is called for the city, which is a hub for many services in northern Manitoba.
A Thompson personal care home is evacuating 33 residents to Flin Flon due to air quality concerns, a spokesperson for Shared Health told CBC on Friday, in what they described as a "limited movement of long-term care residents."
The move is a precautionary measure to reduce risks from smoke exposure to vulnerable people with underlying health concerns, the spokesperson said.
The province said five other residents of the Thompson hospital's psychiatric ward were also being transferred as a precaution. However, there were no plans for a full hospital evacuation as of Friday afternoon.
In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged it's "a worrying time for folks up north right now," but said the health-care system is "constantly assessing the wildfire situation" to make decisions that are best for patients.
The wildfire north of Thompson was 16,370 hectares in size, according to the province's most recent fire bulletin on Friday. The fire is still considered out of control.
Northwest of Thompson, an out of control fire burning near the community of Lynn Lake has grown to 80,120 hectares, the fire bulletin said.
That town's 600 residents were evacuated a week ago, shortly after they returned from a previous mass evacuation last month. This time, Lynn Lake evacuees were taken to Brandon, about 800 kilometres south of their home.
At a news conference Thursday, where Premier Wab Kinew declared a second state of emergency this wildfire season, officials said nearly 13,000 Manitobans were under evacuation orders due to wildfires.
Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, a fly-in community located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, began evacuating its more than 4,000 residents on Thursday, when about 1,000 residents were being flown out by the Canadian Armed Forces, Kinew said.
Seven flights were planned using a Hercules aircraft, as Garden Hill's airstrip is big enough to accommodate the large military plane, Kinew said.
"That really increases the amount of people who could be moved out quickly," the premier said Thursday.
The wildfire burning near Garden Hill is about 2,500 hectares in size and is out of control, the province said in its Friday fire bulletin.
The province said 500 people stayed at an emergency shelter at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue in Winnipeg on Thursday night.
Officials said the Billy Mosienko Arena on Keewatin Street would start housing evacuees again on Friday, while the RBC Convention Centre would become available over the weekend.
CBC reached out to Garden Hill leadership on Friday for an update on the fire situation but had not received a response prior to publication.
Find the latest wildfire information at these sources:
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email [e-mail].