‘Still uncontrolled’: rain in Lac du Bonnet area insufficient to lift wildfire evacuation orders

Rain fell in Lac du Bonnet Friday, with more possible overnight, but officials remained skeptical it would be enough to lift evacuation orders for fire-ravaged areas surrounding the community.

“The fire service’s position is that the rain and the weather haven’t changed the dynamics of the fire. It is still uncontrolled,” Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel said at about 11:30 a.m., shortly after meeting with provincial Emergency Management Organization and fire officials.

“We just want to be very clear and blunt. We are taking direction from the professionals that fight these fires all the time. Although the fire is contained, it’s not controlled yet. Until it’s safe for our residents to go back, they won’t be allowing us to lift any of the evacuation orders.”

Two people died in the blaze, which has burned about 4,000 hectares and destroyed at least 28 homes northeast of Lac du Bonnet, Schinkel said.

The wildfire continued to rage overnight and threatened to jump across the southern boundary of Provincial Road 313, into the area surrounding the Pinawa Channel. Firefighters are concerned about the wildfire’s northeastern front, he said.

Rain began falling in the Lac du Bonnet area at about 6 a.m., and while the reeve initially expressed optimism some evacuation orders might be lifted, hope had faded by late morning.

“I don’t think that there is any potential here that it’s going to change today, tomorrow or into the weekend. It really depends on the weather,” Schinkel said.

“We’ve got to be realistic, and it’s all about not letting anybody back in there until it is completely and utterly safe, and that is currently not the case.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast periods of rain for Lac du Bonnet to continue until 5 p.m. In total, the precipitation could amount to between five and 15 millimetres, meteorologist Danielle Desjardins said.

Weather projections shifted throughout the day Friday, but scattered showers were expected to continue throughout much of southern Manitoba, with a storm system tracking northeast into the evening, she said.

Desjardins noted the weather service was picking up increasing storm activity around the Lac du Bonnet area, increasing the likelihood of precipitation overnight. Temperatures were expected to plummet to near freezing.

“This is exactly what we need to really give us some assistance here. Mother Nature is helping us out, finally,” Schinkel said. “If the whole region is blanketed in this type of rain and moisture for the next couple of days, it’s going to make a significant difference.”

Lac du Bonnet opened one emergency blockade on Wendigo Road at about 8 p.m. Thursday, permitting some residents to return to the area from Provincial Road 313 to Newcombe Road.

Secondary checkpoints remained in place to the north and south of the area, preventing access to areas where Manitoba Hydro is repairing damaged infrastructure and restore power, Schinkel said.

“It will be great if we can get more people back into their homes so they get some semblance of normalcy, and we are working hard to do that, but until we get the proper notification from wildfire services and our emergency measures we can’t do that,” he said.

All other evacuated areas remain under emergency orders and travel is prohibited.

Manitoba Hydro had restored power to Granite Hills and Cape Coppermine by Friday morning, but Grausdin Point — where more than 100 Hydro poles are believed to have been destroyed — remained without electrical service, Schinkel said.

In the past 48 hours, some communities in the region had more substantial rain than in Lac du Bonnet.

Great Falls, located about 20 kilometres north in the RM of Alexander, received 16 millimetres, while Stead, 33 kilometres northwest, recorded 26 millimetres, Desjardins said.

The eastern portion of the RM, particularly around Bird River, remained under threat from the wildfire in Nopiming Provincial Park. As of Friday afternoon, the blaze was the largest in Manitoba and was still considered out of control, Mayor Jack Brisco said.

“The fire is still very huge… We are in a defence mode right now,” Brisco said around 1 p.m.

Brisco said more than 100 firefighters are on the ground — including Mac Kinghorn, the deputy mayor and chief of the Bird River Fire Department.

Those crews are focused on protecting homes and infrastructure in the region, Brisco said.

“We have not lost anything as of yet, but we are battling that close to home now,” he said. “It’s still the No. 1 priority in Manitoba to look after that fire.”

Brisco urged property owners and residents to heed the evacuation order for the region, initiated by the province on Wednesday.

“It might be harsh to hear, but please stay away,” he said.

Woodridge, located further south in the RM of Piney, had received about 17 millimetres of rain by Friday morning, Desjardins said.

About 300 people were evacuated from the community Wednesday due to the nearby out-of-control wildfire.

Piney Reeve Wayne Anderson called the rain “a huge relief” that allowed crews to get closer to the blaze.

“They’ve got a bunch of dozers out along the fire line and it’s going to be a much better day,” he said.

The evacuation order would not be updated until the fire status improves, Anderson said.

Up to six pieces of heavy equipment, two helicopters and fire crews from multiple agencies are supporting the fight, the RM of Piney said in an online statement.

Manitoba has asked other provinces for additional firefighting support.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

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