Dave Baxter
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Winnipeg Sun
Citizens in a northern Manitoba community were warned to have their bags packed and to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, as a threatening forest fire continued to burn just kilometres away on Friday.
“The situation we are in right now is that it is dangerously close,” Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said Friday morning, as officials continued to monitor a forest fire in the area near the small city along the Saskatchewan border that is home to approximately 5,000 people.
Fontaine said that as of Friday morning the fire, which officials say was started by lightning, was believed to be approximately 300 hectares in size, but of more concern was the fact that he said it was as close as five kilometres from Flin Flon, and as close to the city as he said a forest fire has ever been, while also threatening the neighbouring Saskatchewan communities of Creighton and Denare Beach.
On Thursday afternoon Flin Flon issued what they are calling an ‘evacuation standy’ notice, and although Fontaine said there had been no official evacuation notice as of Friday morning, all residents were asked to have a bag packed, emergency kits prepared, and be ready to leave at any time if officials felt the need to evacuate.
“Be ready to go, and if you are asked to leave it will be on short notice,” Fontaine said.
According to Fontaine, crews including ground crews and water bombers from both Manitoba and Saskatchewan, were continuing to battle the blaze on Friday, and a lot of the risk moving forward would depend on the weather and specifically the wind, as the fire burned close to Flin Flon, and the two nearby Saskatchewan communities.
He added many in the area consider Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach to be “sister cities,” so the three communities are working closely together at different levels to monitor the fire, create emergency plans, and to evacuate if necessary.
“We will be coordinated,” Fontaine said.
Should any or all of the communities need to be evacuated, Fontaine said they are also working to have a “cohesive” evacuation plan in place for all three.
Fontaine is now asking all residents in and around Flin Flon to be prepared to leave quickly, but also to stay updated on the latest information as much as possible, in case anything suddenly changes, as he said the city will be doing updates on their website and social media pages, and also plan to use local radio stations to issue updates.
Residents in the area are also being told not to fly drones near the city’s airport, and not to operate boats or watercraft around planes in and around Amisk Lake, as water bombers continue to help fight the blaze.
As of around 3 p.m. on Friday the city had not issued any further updates since Thursday’s evacuation standby notice.
— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
