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CTV News
07-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Nearby wildfire prompts Thompson to declare state of local emergency
A wildfire is seen burning near Lynn Lake, Man. in July 2025. (Maggie Braido) A wildfire is currently burning near the largest city in northern Manitoba, as firefighters continue to deal with a busy fire season in the province. The City of Thompson declared a local state of emergency on Monday, as a wildfire is currently burning 15 kilometres north of the city. There are 81 active wildfires burning in Manitoba as of Monday and 235 fires this year. Of those fires, Kristin Hayward with Manitoba Wildfire Service said that 16 are threatening or have the potential to threaten communities. Hayward notes the fire near Thompson is 6,000 hectares in size. 'Crews are working to establish fire guards in key areas and are setting up value protection on assets, including the airport,' she said. Despite the state of emergency and the wildfire threat, an evacuation of the community is not expected imminently. 'Based on the current conditions, the work that we're doing, and the forecasted conditions, we don't expect Thompson to be in immediate danger for the next couple of days at least,' Hayward said. Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids have both announced evacuations in recent days. The fire near Leaf Rapids is approximately 14 kilometres from the community and is over 5,100 hectares in size. 'The fire has been less active in recent days due to precipitation in that area, but it is expected to pick back up as warmer and drier conditions return,' Hayward said. A second fire burning near Leaf Rapids is 2,000 hectares in size and has the potential to impact the community's hydro transmission. Two fires are burning near Lynn Lake. One is over 80,000 hectares, and a second fire is 5,600 hectares and threatening the Manitoba Hydro transmission. The province also confirmed seven homes were destroyed in Tataskweyak Cree Nation over the weekend. There are 141 personnel from other jurisdictions assisting with the wildfire fight in Manitoba, Hayward said. Christine Stevens with the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization said seven communities—Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids, the Wallace Cottage Association , Marcel Colomb First Nation, Mathias Columb First Nation, Tataskweyak and parts of Nopiming—have evacuated due to wildfires.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Leaf Rapids evacuating due to wildfire threat
The northern Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents due to encroaching wildfires. A helicopter crew works on a wildfire as another is shown flying by in northern Manitoba during a helicopter tour in the surrounding area of Flin Flon, Man., on Thursday, June 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Deal-Pool A northern Manitoba community is evacuating due to the threat of wildfires. The town of Leaf Rapids announced Monday on Facebook that it is ordering an evacuation. All residents are asked to be out by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Those with their own vehicles are told to make sure they take their pets with them and call the town office to tell them where they're staying. The reception centre in Winnipeg at 770 Leila Avenue will be open for evacuees who don't have a place to go. Buses will be sent up to transport evacuees without a vehicle starting Tuesday at 10 a.m. Residents are advised to be at the Fields Store parking lot at 9 a.m. The post says the province is working to secure hotel space for evacuees. All evacuees are being reminded to take money, identification, medications and clothing, and to turn off their furnaces, water and lights in their homes. The town had a population of 351 people according to the 2021 census.
CBC
07-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Manitoba emergency officials to give wildfire update at 12:45 p.m.
Social Sharing Emergency officials are set to give an update on wildfires in Manitoba, after at least seven homes in Tataskweyak Cree Nation burned on Friday and the largest city in the province's north was placed on evacuation watch. CBC Manitoba will livestream the 12:45 p.m. news conference here and on CBC Gem. The Town of Leaf Rapids has declared a local state of emergency and told its residents they have 24 hours to get out of the northern community, about 155 kilometres northwest of Thompson, in a Facebook post Monday morning. The population of Leaf Rapids was about 350 people in the 2021 census. About 115 kilometres northeast of Thompson, at least seven houses were razed by flames that spread quickly amid heavy winds in Tataskweyak on Friday, chief and council said in a social media post on Saturday. Meanwhile, a fire burning north of Thompson has that city on edge, and Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, about 65 kiloimetres to the west, called a local state of emergency Sunday. The fire threatening Thompson started on Friday and was about seven hectares in size when discovered that morning. By Sunday evening it had grown to 6,000 hectares, Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook said on Monday morning. As of now, there are no evacuations happening for the city of roughly 13,000, but Smook has advised residents to gas up their vehicles and to pack medications, food and other necessities, in case they have to suddenly leave. Should that happen, "it'll be a big ordeal," Smook said. "We don't have the capacity to put everybody through the gas stations at once," she said. The flames were most recently about eight kilometres away from the city, and heavy machinery was being used to create fire breaks, Smook said. More firefighting crews arrived Sunday night from Winnipeg to help. Some of them are working to ensure the airport is safe and accessible, she said. "We are very lucky that it's not tracking to the city, with our wind at the moment. We've got very little wind this week, but you know, come the end of the week, it could be a different story," she said. "There's no need to panic at this time, but yet there is a preparedness that we are trying to push through." City authorities and emergency personnel are having regular meetings, with the next one planned for early Monday afternoon, Smook said. She urged residents to pay attention to the City of Thompson's Facebook page. "We'll keep everybody updated on just what they need to do." Manitoba lifted a provincewide state of emergency two weeks ago amid improving conditions overall, though several communities that remained on high alert have been forced to leave over the past week — some for the second time since the end of May. Lynn Lake emptied out on Friday after a mandatory evacuation order, about five weeks after the community of 600 originally emptied out, amid a fresh wildfire threat. They boarded buses and planes and have mostly settled at hotels in Brandon.
CBC
06-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Evacuation 'likely expected' for Leaf Rapids as wildfires threaten northern Manitoba town
Social Sharing Leaf Rapids residents are being told to get ready to leave on short notice as wildfires threaten yet another Manitoba community. The town announced in a Facebook post at 10 a.m. Sunday that an evacuation is "likely expected," and could come into effect with notice of 10 hours or less. A fire southwest of the community was more than 5,000 hectares in size as of Saturday, according to the provincial fire map. Another blaze to Leaf Rapids' southeast — near O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation — was about 100 hectares, with the town saying in a previous update it may threaten hydro infrastructure. Both fires remained out of control as of the latest provincial update. "I woke up about 6:30 a.m. and it was really smoky outside. You could smell it inside and I was kind of nervous to even go back to bed," Leaf Rapids resident Elizabeth Charrier said. "My daughter has a cold right now and my son has asthma. So I've just been keeping them in because it is affecting people's breathing.… [there's a] lot of elders here that have health issues." The town said arrangements for the evacuation are taking place, and further notice will be given to residents once there are any updates. WATCH | Northern communities forced to evacuate again by fires: Northern Manitoba communities forced to evacuate again as multiple fires burn 2 hours ago Duration 4:29 A wildfire destroyed at least seven homes and forced nearly 200 people to evacuate from Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northeastern Manitoba, the community's chief and council said in a social media post on Saturday. Additionally, about 600 residents of the nearby town of Lynn Lake began to evacuate Friday, only two weeks after they returned from an earlier evacuation. Read more: Charrier said the last few days have been stressful. "You don't know what's going to happen next," she said. "We keep going for a ride to just check on the smoke." Provincial Road 493 from Leaf Rapids to Lynn Lake — about 75 kilometres northwest as the crow flies — is closed because of fire and smoke. On Thursday, Lynn Lake residents were ordered to evacuate the community because of the fire there, which was about 80,000 hectares in size. Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak said Saturday as many as 150 people with high-priority medical needs were being evacuated out of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin. About 350 people lived in Leaf Rapids as of the 2021 census. The community is about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Charrier said the situation seems to be more in control than about two years ago, when a wildfire forced the evacuation of the town during a leadership turnover. "Our vehicles are packed. We're just putting things like pictures we've been going through," she said. "Last time we were rushing, there was things we thought of after that could burn … I would have wanted to have with me, but this time, we've got our our important things in a bag and everything's in the vehicle and we're ready to go."
CBC
04-07-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Lynn Lake residents asked to prepare to evacuate northern Manitoba town again Friday
Social Sharing Hundreds of Lynn Lake residents could be forced out of the northern Manitoba community, with wildfire activity once again threatening residents' safety only two weeks after they were allowed to return home. The town said in an update posted to Facebook Thursday afternoon a fire about 20 kilometres southwest of Lynn Lake could damage the main transmission line servicing the community as early as Friday. That has the potential to cause an outage that could last at least a month and would leave the town unable to maintain essential services. The notice warned residents a mandatory evacuation could be declared if there's a power outage Friday, and everyone should be ready to leave on short notice. It also encouraged anyone who can leave on their own to do so as soon as possible, saying "early voluntary departures reduce strain on emergency services and improve safety." If an evacuation is necessary, buses will run Friday for those requiring help getting out, the notice said. The town, just over 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was previously given a mandatory evacuation order on May 27, which was lifted on June 20. Last week, Lynn Lake was put on evacuation alert after the nearby fires triggered air quality warnings. An out-of-control fire near the community was about 71,860 hectares in size as of the latest provincial fire bulletin Thursday. The Lynn Lake Facebook notice said two fires near Leaf Rapids — about 75 kilometres southeast as the crow flies — are threatening to cut off travel from the town to the northern hub of Thompson. Hot, dry conditions and shifting winds are forecast for the next two or three days, worsening wildfire activity and increasing the risk to infrastructure, the town said. The fire threatening the transmission line near McVeigh was expected to cross Provincial Road 396 Thursday, the notice said, adding it could also impact travel and fire response access. Roughly 600 people live in Lynn Lake.
