Evacuees express frustration in march to Garbage Hill

Brenda Dysart said she would rather be swimming at the beach in Leaf Rapids Thursday afternoon.

Instead, she and 40 others from the northern town, who were evacuated to Winnipeg owing to wildfires, marched from their hotel on Notre Dame Avenue to Westview Park. They made the public trek to demand the province provide more support.

“My heart hurts. It aches for home,” Dysart said.

Chants of “what do we want? Support! What do we need? Support!” could be heard over hand drums and traditional Indigenous songs as the group marched to the summit of Garbage Hill.

About 330 people were evacuated from Leaf Rapids nearly three weeks ago.

“It’s hard being in the city,” Dysart said. “Our kids are struggling. They’re free at home, but they can’t be free here.”

“Red Cross is doing their best with meals and everything, but we need the government to step up and do whatever they can to put the fire out.”

The march was prompted by news the flames entered the town Wednesday night and destroyed several vacant buildings and one home.

Dysart said the news made her cry. She lives one street away from the damaged home.

“If the wind would have switched, we would have lost our home,” she said. “There’s still a chance the wind will switch. It’s gonna hurt. And then what? Where do we go? Who’s gonna take care of us?”

Evacuee Melvin Anderson said his younger brother stayed to help in the fire fight. He sends him regular updates, but he worries the shifting winds will send the flames back again.

The fire is about half a kilometre away from Anderson’s home, according to reports from his brother on the front lines.

“I got a house that we worked and paid for, and what happens if it goes up in flames?” he said.

Anderson is frustrated with the lack of communication about the wildfire, owing to the town having no mayor or council.

The town’s leadership was dissolved in 2019 and the province appointed an administrator to deal with day-to-day operations.

“They say it’s government-run. Where’s the people in the government that run it? They’re supposed to be in town so they can see what’s going on,” Anderson said.

Blair McTavish, assistant deputy minister of Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure, said at a Thursday afternoon press conference he believes town administration is running the town’s Facebook page, which is what many residents rely on for wildfire information.

McTavish said the province is working with the Leaf Rapids administration to ensure it has timely and accurate information.

Dysart said she’s frustrated she can’t complain to a town official.

“You complain to your neighbours, that’s all you can do these days,” she said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca