Exhausted, relieved Flin Floners return to spoiled food, neglected lawns after month-long wildfire evacuation By: Nicole Buffie Posted: 10:26 AM CDT Wednesday, Jun. 25, 2025 Last Modified: 9:11 AM CDT Friday, Jun. 27, 2025 Updates

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FLIN FLON — The repatriation of Flin Flon was slow and steady Wednesday morning as eager residents were permitted back after nearly a month-long evacuation.

Other than firefighters and a handful of workers who stayed to support them, 5,100 residents were ordered to leave on May 28 as a massive, out-of-control wildfire bore down on the northwest Manitoba city.

Brian Humphreys stood in his kitchen Wednesday, debating whether to throw out a carton of eggs left in his fridge when he and his wife, Helen, hurried out of the community a day ahead of the mandatory order.

The expiry date reads July 17, but power went out in their suite several times during their time away. It’s a risk Humphreys said he’s willing to take.

“I grew up in a time when you didn’t waste food,” he said with a laugh.

Cereal, sauces and a fridge full of drinks awaited the Humphreys’ return. During their time away, Helen worried their home would reek of wildfire smoke because an opening was left in the space where their air conditioner was being installed before they were ordered out.

“Now all I’ve got is plenty of laundry to do,” she said.

The Humphreys were among many residents of Legion House 55+ who were clearing out their fridges as a first order of business. A dumpster had been dropped off in the condo complex’s parking lot for the expected avalanche of spoiled food.

Kathy Bensen carted out several large black garbage bags from her suite, estimating a loss of more than $1,000 in beef, chicken and pork when the city’s power went out for a time.

Bensen spent time in Thompson, Brandon, Dauphin and Winnipeg during the 29-day evacuation period.

“It’s so nice to see people I know, make my own coffee that I like to drink and start cleaning right away,” she said.

Not far away, Kevin Rose lamented the loss of dozens of pepper plants which went unwatered and mowed his jungle of a lawn after a month of neglect.

He mowed with a tinge of guilt; he didn’t want his neighbours to return and feel bad comparing his manicured grass to their own swaths that needed to be tamed.

Rose returned over the weekend when essential employees were allowed back to begin preparing for Wednesday’s massive homecoming.

Grocery stores, gas stations, hotels and other critical businesses were open when RCMP opened the blockade.

“It was a ghost town before,” Rose said. “There’s people slowly coming in and it’s nice to see.”

The bumper-to-bumper lineup of eager residents in cars, trucks and trailers waiting to return home to Flin Flon and the neighbouring Saskatchewan communities Creighton and Denare Beach snaked down Highway 10 for two kilometres before 9 a.m.

Bryanne Roberts, who waited in her silver sedan with her sleeping daughter and dog, said she was returning with mixed emotions.

“Happy to be going home back to my stability, but there’s going to be a lot that’s changed,” she said. “There’s never been a fire near us, and it’s sad knowing that it’s going to look a lot different.”

Patches of burned boreal forest dotted the northern highway and a faint smell of wildfire smoke remained, serving as a reminder the threat of fire is still present.

During the wait, residents stretched and chatted with others along the side of the road. Others took the opportunity to provide some relief to pets going stir-crazy after hours of travel.

Signs along the highway welcomed residents back and thanked firefighters for their tireless efforts battling the blaze, which has grown to 370,000 hectares — about seven times the size of Winnipeg — and claimed more than 100 buildings and homes in Saskatchewan.

Norm Madland waited out the evacuation order at his son’s house in Saskatoon, but was happy to return to Flin Flon, where he has lived for 30 years.

“The wife has COPD, and it was pretty smoky, so we left early before they told everyone to get out,” he said. “We didn’t have any clothes or anything, so (we’re) pretty excited to get home.”

A group of firefighters and RCMP officers welcomed residents at the turnoff into Flin Flon. They handed out pamphlets listing resources, such as where to find hygiene kits, cleaning kits, masks and food hampers.

The fire department, wildfire service and office of the fire commissioner plan to hold a meeting for residents with questions at the Flin Flon community hall Thursday evening.

At the fire hall on the west side of town, the department’s 29 members lounged on plastic chairs in the hall’s bay, still half-dressed in fire gear and munching on sub sandwiches provided by the town.

Since the threat of fire has lessened, fire chief Jason Kuras said local crews would pivot back to focusing on emergencies and structure fires within town and act as support for the wildland firefighters still battling the monstrous blaze nearby.

To date, 194 firefighters from 53 municipal fire departments assisted with the efforts, along with 15 office of the fire commissioner members that brought 18 fire trucks, 29 apparatuses and five boats with them.

“That’s a lot of municipal firefighters that have never been co-ordinated all at once in such a fashion,” Kuras said.

In the midst of their afternoon snack, Kuras stands up to task the crew with their next order of business: monitoring the town and assisting evacuees with any heavy lifting.

Down the block, residents trickled in and out of the Whitney Forum arena mid-morning to get much-needed supplies and see familiar faces after a month away.

Manning the food bank table was Deputy Mayor Alison Dallas-Funk, who became known for her daily video dispatches from city hall to update residents about the fire, evacuation and when people could return home.

Dallas-Funk was one of the few who stayed in Flin Flon during the evacuation order.

“It’s that face and that connection it gave,” she said. “It’s the reminder that you still have a home and you have a community member ensuring that there’s something to come back to.”

The pressure of providing timely, comforting information to residents and the wider community weighed on her some days, but receiving support from different corners of the province made the ordeal smoother, she said.

Northern Neighbours, a community foundation founded in Flin Flon and based in Winnipeg donated $5o,000 to the town’s food bank to ensure returning residents could replace spoiled food with fresh produce.

The constant, rotating fire support blew her away, too.

“It’s a very humbling experience watching people from Canada, people from all over Manitoba, from the States, come to your community to risk their lives to help you,” Dallas-Funk said.

Now that people are slowly returning home, Dallas-Funk can shift her focus from disaster management to repatriation management — a duty she’s been keen on.

“When people came back, it was like the town taking a big breath,” she said. “They say people make a community, but it’s really true. Being here alone was like having this place holding its breath.”

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

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