Generators proposed as wildfire-affected communities face weeks — or months — without power

Some wildfire-stricken communities in Manitoba won’t have power restored for months, leaving evacuated residents in the lurch as to when they’ll be able to return home.

Manitoba Hydro estimates Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, won’t have power back until the week of Sept. 28.

Fire is no longer a threat to the community of 2,200 residents.

Evacuee Shirley Castel wondered why Hydro isn’t able to service the community with diesel generators, like it did during the last wildfire-related power outage in 2023.

“There was two big generators that were provided by Manitoba Hydro that helped us, I don’t know why they can’t do it this time,” Castel said by phone Friday.

Her family has been evacuated from Mathias Colomb, located about 700 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, since May 28, when a nearby wildfire threatened the community.

The 122,445-hectare fire near Mathias Colomb is contained, the province said.

A new dashboard showing Hydro’s wildfire outage response lists 249 structures near Mathias Colomb that are known to be damaged, and 131 that have been repaired or replaced.

“It’s costing the province a lot of money, including the federal government, with a cost-share for us staying out here, and you know, it would make sense to get generators to get us back home,” Castel said.

Since the residents were ordered out, Castel and her family bounced between Saskatoon, Sask., and The Pas. The province gave her the option to be sent to Niagara Falls, Ont., to stay with fellow evacuees, but Castel preferred to stay closer to home in the event the evacuation didn’t last long.

Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said the utility’s responsibility is to restore “safe, reliable power” to the community.

“And that’s where our efforts are focused. We’ve made progress repairing significant damage and will continue to work hard and put the resources needed into completing the repairs,” Chura said in an email.

Chura didn’t answer questions about whether supplying a generator to the community was considered.

O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake) also remains without power and is under priority evacuation for those with health problems. Hydro estimates the community will have power back by the week of Oct. 12.

Other communities, including Marcel Colomb First Nation (Black Sturgeon Falls) and Lynn Lake, won’t have power until the week of Sept. 21, Hydro estimated.

Crews are on site in the town of Leaf Rapids and power should be restored to its 350 residents by the week of Sept. 7, Hydro said.

Chura said the extended timelines are due to reaching and repairing damage in remote areas and difficult terrain.

“In some places access is so difficult, crews and equipment must be delivered by helicopter. In rocky terrain, poles may need to be set in holes bored 1.5 metres into the rock,” Chura said.

The dashboard shows 1,388 customers are without power and 1,067 structures have been damaged by wildfire in affected communities. The Crown corporation has repaired or replaced 538 of those damaged structures.

Meantime, Snow Lake residents have begun to return after seven weeks away from home.

Manitoba Highways reported early Friday that Highway 392, from the junction of Highway 39 to Snow Lake, had reopened, as well as Highway 393, from 8 km East of Highway 392 until the end of the highway. The closures were due to nearby wildfire.

The community, located about 700 kilometers north of Winnipeg, was ordered out on July 10.

Four communities remain evacuated as of Friday, including Marcel Colomb, Mathias Colomb, Lynn Lake and Leaf Rapids. About 7,450 people were still out of their homes as of Thursday afternoon, with roughly 4,800 of them lodged in hotel rooms across Manitoba.

At an unrelated press conference Wednesday, Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty said after the fire season winds down, the federal government will be consulting with affected communities to create a plan to better prepare and respond to future wildfire seasons.

The minister couldn’t put an estimate on the cost of Canada’s wildfire fight, but said it would be in the hundreds of millions.

Nine communities in northern Manitoba were under rainfall warnings Friday. The region spanning from Mathias Colomb to Shamattawa, and including all the communities still evacuated due to wildfire, is expected to see 50 to 70 millimetres of precipitation before the system moves east into Ontario.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca