Leaf Rapids to lift wildfire evacuation order Monday

Leaf Rapids residents can begin returning home Monday after more than two months away owing to wildfires.

The town announced on social media Thursday afternoon it will lift the evacuation order on Monday.

“I’m pretty ecstatic to get back out there,” said resident Mervin Dale. Dale stayed in Winnipeg and Thompson after residents were ordered out July 8.

Residents withe their own transportation can return to Leaf Rapids once the evacuation order is lifted, the post said.

Buses are expected to leave Winnipeg on Monday and arrive in Leaf Rapids on Tuesday. Further information about buses will be posted to the town’s Facebook page.

Dale admits staying in large city centres has been tough and he looks forward to being back in nature. He has been prepping for the journey home since Wednesday when word started to circulate about an impending repatriation.

“I just want to get back out to the trap line and shut out society for a bit,” he quipped.

The town will have a reception area for returning residents that will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday. Cleaning kits, as well as public health staff and Northern Regional Health Authority reps will be available on-site.

Most services in town will be operational, including health services, grocery stores, RCMP and town operations. The school is expected to reopen the week of Sept. 29.

Ervin Bighetty said he was given no notice to begin stocking the town’s only grocery store.

Bighetty, who manages the local Co-op, has been back in the community since Aug. 23 awaiting word from the town’s administrators as to when people would begin returning so he could order product for the shelves.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna have enough food for everyone when they get home,” he said, adding he wasn’t involved in recent meetings with town officials about reopening plans.

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

Bighetty, who was also the town’s mayor until his position was dissolved, said the community needs new leadership soon.

“We need someone to advocate for us,” he said.

Leaf Rapids is one of the last evacuated communities to allow residents back after tens of thousands were displaced during Manitoba’s worst wildfire season in 30 years.

Provincial data show more than 2.1 million hectares has burned. Currently, 89 fires are burning across the province, for a total of 429 blazes to date.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, remains under an evacuation order. The First Nation’s emergency management team said in a social media post it is waiting until the nursing station is fully supplied and the grocery stores are fully stocked before residents are permitted home.

The community, located about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, has been under an evacuation order since May 28.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca