Waiting to be saved Mathias Colomb residents on alert for helicopters; evacuees in Winnipeg praise response By: Scott Billeck Posted: 6:05 PM CDT Friday, May. 30, 2025

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This article was published 30/05/2025 (460 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Judith Moore was awakened by a Facebook call around 3 a.m. Friday with an urgent message from her mother: get out.

“She told me to run to my sister’s next door with my grandsons,” she said Friday afternoon. “They had their sprinkler on.”

As fire closed in on Mathias Colomb First Nation — also known as Pukatawagan, about 820 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — Moore quickly dressed her grandchildren. She grabbed bags, blankets, food, and water, and fled the house.

“It was exhausting and my grandsons — aged five and seven — burst into tears, which broke my heart,” Moore said, explaining they sought shelter at her grandparents’ home further away from the blaze. “I had to be brave for them, hold my tears back.”

With no power in the community since Tuesday and evacuation orders issued Wednesday, Moore said she has been relying on Facebook, as well as updates from the chief, council and local firefighters.

She’s been able to charge her phone using generator power while waiting for news about when she and her family will be evacuated.

That help was on its way, Premier Wab Kinew confirmed Friday afternoon. He urged residents to stay calm and hold tight.

Despite heavy smoke, the Pukatawagan Airport remained intact, Kinew told reporters at the Manitoba legislature. Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters were still running evacuation operations, flying people to The Pas.

“The situation was very, very dangerous and scary overnight,” Kinew said. “There were many calls for help.”

Photos Moore shared with the Free Press showed smoke and ash beginning to blanket the area.

“So many are afraid,” she said, expressing her gratitude to the firefighters who have been battling the inferno.

Moore said she heard explosions overnight, which she believes came from the airport across the lake. The airport was forced to close Thursday and helicopters have been landing at the youth centre in the middle of town, she said.

Elders, infants, and those with chronic illnesses were airlifted out by helicopter that same day, Moore said. She added that helicopters began landing in the community around 7 a.m., aiming to evacuate the estimated 2,000 people who remained as of Thursday night.

Among those evacuated Thursday was Shirley Castile, who fled with members of her family, including her 11-day-old grandson. They spent much of the day shuttling back and forth to the airport, waiting for a flight while flames burned nearby.

“The smoke and heat had gotten so bad, it was so dangerous,” she said. “There were a lot of people sitting around outside with children. It was just terrible. The smoke was so thick you could barely see to the next house.”

Worried for the health of her newborn grandson, Castile took matters into her own hands, paying out-of-pocket for a helicopter flight with Gogal Air Services out of Snow Lake.

“They came and picked us up, took us to Snow Lake, and then a van came and drove us to The Pas,” Castile said, adding that eight of them, including several children, squeezed into a five-seat helicopter. “We’re very tired.”

She and her family plan to travel to Saskatoon on Saturday to stay with her sister. She said she hoped her husband, who was still in Mathias Colomb Friday afternoon, would soon be evacuated to The Pas.

Her husband, who works in public works, stayed behind to help operate the water plant. Four of her adult children were still in the community as of Friday afternoon with their own families. Two of them, both members of the local council, were helping with evacuation efforts.

Meanwhile, in Winnipeg, displaced residents from Flin Flon were settling into emergency accommodations Friday after being forced from their homes.

Christine Bell, 71, and her seven-year-old dog, Mocha, arrived Thursday at Century Arena in Fort Garry after a difficult journey.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Bell, who lives with chronic pain.

Doctors had advised her not to drive on highways, so she travelled with others to make the trip.

Her dog, recovering from surgery to remove a cyst on Monday, wore a cone.

Born and raised in Flin Flon, Bell said she’s never seen anything like what’s unfolded in recent days.

“It’s been hard,” she said. “It doesn’t look like anyone is going home any time soon.”

Bell said she hopes the Red Cross will transfer her to more appropriate accommodations — somewhere quieter and senior-friendly.

“I’ve had to sleep in my car,” she said, saying it’s been too chaotic inside the arena, which is close to capacity, housing around 200 people.

Flin Flon faced a dire situation Friday.

“The situation there is very, very serious, and we are doing everything that we can to preserve life, but also to preserve people’s livelihoods and homes in the region,” Kinew said during a news conference.

Mayor and council in Flin Flon were evacuated Friday as conditions worsened in the city, leaving just emergency workers, including firefighters, in the area.

Donovan Colomb stood outside Century Arena as one of his nine children played nearby.

“It is what it is,” he said of the wildfire. “If it does (burn the city), it does, we can’t stop it.”

Colomb and his nine children took a school bus to Winnipeg, arriving around 9 a.m. on Thursday, while his partner drove with family and arrived later in the evening.

“It’s been good here,” he said. “I know a lot of people here, and I know some of the people in other communities (around Flin Flon) are showing up here as well.”

Kelli Plummer and her mother, Dian Campbell, arrived at the arena early Wednesday after joining a convoy that left Flin Flon Tuesday afternoon.

“It was scary,” Campbell said, adding that she broke off from the convoy’s route to take a different path, down through Thompson and Grand Rapids to bypass the traffic. “I just needed to get my daughter out of there.”

Originally from Jamaica, the pair lived in Toronto until moving to Flin Flon in 2021.

“We had heard about other wildfires that were in communities further away from us,” Campbell said. “But now I was like, oh my gosh, now I am in it. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

Added Plummer: “We’re worried for our homes. We’ve built a solid foundation there. And we’ve left everything behind. It’s been very stressful. And all we can think about is will have anything to go back to?”

Campbell said there’s been constant anxiety as they await updates but praised the Red Cross for its response.

They were among the first to arrive at the arena and were provided with meals, blankets and pillows.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

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