Wildfire evacuees face new threats in Winnipeg, including drug dealers: grand chief

CBC

6 days ago

While evacuees flee the dangers of wildfires near their communities, many are now being forced to deal with a whole new set of threats in Winnipeg, including drug dealers and the fear of going hungry, a First Nations leader says.
"They're running to escape one threat, but they're running into other threats in the evacuation areas," said Alex McDougall, interim grand chief of Anisininew Okimawin, which represents four nations in the Island Lake region, including Garden Hill Anisininew Nation.
Last Wednesday, a full evacuation was ordered for Garden Hill due to a wildfire that continues to threaten the community of more than 4,500 people, located on the north shore of Island Lake.
Many evacuees who were flown to Winnipeg, about 475 kilometres southwest of Garden Hill, are now living at temporary emergency shelters, including one at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue and another at a field house at the University of Winnipeg.
McDougall said Tuesday he has heard from those in shelters about the threats they have been facing, including drug traffickers targeting community members at shelters.
"We have predators that start targeting our young people," he said.
Winnipeg police said last Wednesday that two men had been charged with trafficking cocaine outside hotels near Winnipeg's airport, where evacuees from the province's northern wildfires are currently staying.
Along with fears of drugs and trafficking, McDougall said there are also real fears of evacuees going hungry or not eating properly while in shelters in the city.
"We need to make sure children and elders are fed with an appropriate diet," he said. "That's a real concern."
He is also worried about the boredom that could set in for many evacuees while in Winnipeg.
"We have challenges with thousands of people that have been evacuated, trying to keep them busy with activities."
'Stressful for everybody': evacuee
Winnie Harper, who has been staying at the temporary U of W shelter in downtown Winnipeg since being evacuated from Garden Hill, said staying there has been challenging for many, and most are hoping to get home as soon as possible.
"It's very difficult. It's very stressful for everybody, being separated from their homes and being crammed into one spot," he said.
He added he hopes more hotel rooms can be freed up in the city, so that more evacuees can get out of the makeshift shelters.
"It would be more comfortable if everyone here had an available room to go to," Harper said. "There's kids and elderly people, and people are awake quite late.
"It would be nice to have more privacy for everybody."
While Garden Hill remains under a full evacuation order, the neighbouring communities of St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack First Nations have also declared local states of emergencies in the last 24 hours.
Those communities started evacuating vulnerable residents, including elderly people, children and people with underlying medical conditions on Monday, but as of Tuesday, a full evacuation of those two communities has not gone into effect, while officials continue to monitor the threat from wildfires.
McDougall acknowledged that because of some of the threats and challenges that evacuees are facing in Winnipeg, leaders in those communities are doing everything they can to avoid full evacuations if possible.
"I've heard directly from leadership that if they don't have to evacuate, they're not going to evacuate," he said.
Progress in fighting fires near Thompson
Meanwhile, officials in Thompson continue to monitor two out of control wildfires burning near the city that is home to 13,000 residents who now remain on standby, and have been preparing for the possibility of an evacuation of the city.
In a Tuesday morning update, the city said firefighting efforts have been bolstered by the arrival of 20 firefighters from Mexico who are joining Manitoba Wildfire Service firefighters.
The city said Monday that cloud cover, light winds and some rain have helped Manitoba's firefighters make some progress in battling the two blazes growing closer to Thompson, which is the largest city in northern Manitoba.
The City of Thompson said it will also be getting two new helicopters from Quebec to assist firefighters, which will add to an aircraft already in use.
According to the province's latest fire bulletin, issued Tuesday, the Manitoba Wildfire Service was responding to 122 active wildfires across the province, and has responded to a total of 305 wildfires to date, well above the average for this time of year of 221 fires.