Summer not nearly over, but some wildfire-weary Thompson residents can’t wait for winter

For the first time in her 50-plus years in Thompson, Mayor Colleen Smook is hearing residents ask when winter is coming, even though there’s still plenty of summer left.

Some wildfires in northern Manitoba may not be extinguished until snow begins falling later this year, if higher temperatures and dry conditions continue, she said.

“This could go on until we get some decent snowfall and colder temperatures,” Smook told the Free Press Wednesday.

Mike Flannigan, a wildfire scientist at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., said the scenario is highly possible because there are numerous large fires.

Some could survive the winter by smouldering underground, and resurface in 2026 when temperatures increase and snow melts, he said.

“I expect the fires will burn right into fall, and some of them will burn possibly right through winter and wake up next spring,” Flannigan said. “I’m sure the mayor and people up north don’t want to hear that, but it’s a distinct possibility.”

Known as overwintering or zombie fires, they burn deep into the organic layer, typically peat.

“If it’s a really wet fall and wet winter, (Mother Nature) may extinguish all the fires, but given the scope of the number and size of these fires, I wouldn’t be surprised to see five, maybe 10 fires survive the winter into next spring,” Flannigan said.

More than 100 overwintering fires were detected in Alberta and B.C. in early 2024. A wildfire that began near Fort McMurray, Alta., in May 2016 — eventually sweeping into the community — overwintered, and was not declared extinguished until August 2017.

Flannigan described 2025 as a “horrific” wildfire season for Manitoba.

“I expect the fires will burn right into fall, and some of them will burn possibly right through winter and wake up next spring.”–Mike Flannigan

Two people died in a fire northeast of Lac du Bonnet in May. More than 130 structures have been confirmed destroyed across the province.

More than 1.5 million hectares of land has burned, which is the highest total since a record three million-plus hectares burned in 1989, Flannigan said.

About 14,000 Manitobans are currently displaced from their homes, a provincial spokesperson said.

Since the start of the fire season, more than 31,500 evacuees have registered with the Canadian Red Cross.

The Manitoba Wildfire Service reported 162 active fires Tuesday — mostly in the North — with 403 fires detected since April.

The Manitoba government has not yet said if a 30-day provincewide state of emergency, due to expire Friday, will be extended. It is the second wildfire-related state of emergency this year.

Thompson recently extended a state of local emergency for another 30 days to Sept. 5. An out-of-control blaze, caused by lightning, has been burning north of the city since July 4.

The 18,365-hectare fire was 14 kilometres away from Thompson as of Tuesday.

Smook hailed ground and aerial crews who’ve been keeping fires away from northern Manitoba’s largest city and Highway 6, the region’s primary trade and travel corridor.

Thompson residents were previously told to prepare a “go-bag” and keep their vehicles fuelled up in case a mandatory evacuation order is issued. Smook says the city has been lucky with wind conditions and cooler temperatures.

“We’ve basically dodged a bullet for a month now. It’s still touch-and-go,” she said.

Smook is hoping for significant rainfall, and no lightning strikes, in the coming days, along with favourable wind conditions and high humidity.

“We’re still under a lot of pressure if we don’t get that rain,” she said.

“We’re still under a lot of pressure if we don’t get that rain.”–Mayor Colleen Smook

Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Christy Climenhaga said 10-15 millimetres of rain was possible in parts of Manitoba Wednesday. Higher amounts were possible in thunderstorms.

Climenhaga said a second low-pressure system could bring 20-40 millimetres of rain across much of the province, except far northern areas, this weekend, when cooler temperatures are expected.

An air-quality warning was in effect for northern Manitoba and some eastern areas. Heavy smoke or heat grounded firefighting aircraft in some places this week.

In a social-media post, the Town of Leaf Rapids said fire crews extinguished a few hot spots inside the evacuated community this week. A house and about a half-dozen vacant buildings were destroyed when flames swept into the town last month.

Firefighters continue to protect Snow Lake from flames. Three fires near the evacuated community merged Tuesday, after a pyrocumulus cloud and weather system were spawned by extreme heat, the town said on social media.

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The rare and dangerous system posed a significant risk, creating localized winds and storm-like conditions before it collapsed, the town said.

A mandatory evacuation for Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawagan), home to about 2,200 people has been in place since late May, initially due to fire and later due to a power outage.

Manitoba Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said initial damage included about 100 poles, many of which have been or are currently being replaced and restrung.

“Unfortunately, other sections of the line feeding the community recently became part of a new active wildfire area and will require inspection for damage before being re-energized,” Powell wrote in an email. “The rapidly evolving wildfire situation means we haven’t been able to complete a full assessment. As such, we can’t offer a specific timeline for when power will be fully restored.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.