‘The community is safe now’ Peguis residents, volunteers bolster flood defences as Fisher River overflows By: Scott Billeck Posted: 6:43 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 23, 2026

PEGUIS FIRST NATION — The steady rhythm of people filling sandbags by shovel and hand, until each one weighed 35 to 40 pounds, continued without pause Thursday in the parking lot of a derelict school on the main drag in this Interlake community.

Among the dozens filling sandbags was 71-year-old Marilyn Spence, who knelt as she cinched each bag closed. Her husband, Melvin, 72, and grandson Dalton Hobden handed volunteers bag after bag.

“It’s almost normal for us,” she said, smiling. “But we’ve never gotten help like this before. We used to do it all on our own. People have to come together, and they are.”

Hobden said it’s nice to see his grandmother be able to help out, but sad that she has to do it.

“She should be at home; she’s a good gardener,” he said. “But just like everyone else around here, this is their story: doing this rather than something else. It’s nice to see the community out here.”

The mood in the community of roughly 3,800 was upbeat despite the looming threat of flooding on the Fisher River.

Crews were near the end of the massive effort to stack 800,000 sandbags around more than 100 homes in what has become an almost annual ritual.

“We’ve been doing this for years,” Spence said. “My first flood, I was pregnant with my oldest son. He’ll be 50 in July. It’s been steady ever since.”

For some, it’s the only work they can find. Those who help are paid and have worked long hours over the past six weeks or so. They’ll remain when the flood threat ends to dismantle the sandbag fortresses.

“We’re all working as a team,” said John Sinclair, a community member who was helping fill sandbags. He figured that over the past couple of weeks, he had filled 20,000 sandbags on his own. “You gotta keep moving, but it takes a toll on you. It’s good, though. The community is safe now.”

When the river flooded in 2014, the Spences’ home was ruined. The couple still live there despite the mould, but the situation has improved.

“There were 21 of us living in that home,” Marilyn Spence said. “Now, many of the children are gone.”

Spring flooding has repeatedly displaced residents, including about 2,000 people during the one-in-200-year flood in 2022. Roughly 200 never returned.

“We’ve been doing this for years… My first flood, I was pregnant with my oldest son. He’ll be 50 in July. It’s been steady ever since.”

Nine people have been evacuated this year. Many who are considered high priority for evacuation because of their health have decided to stay and tough it out.

Warren McCorrister is one of them. The 61-year-old Peguis First Nation member said he’s been forced from his home three times owing to flooding on the Fisher River.

He lives in Fisher Branch, about 30 kilometres south. On Thursday, he returned to pitch in on the flood fight.

“This is home,” he said, adding he’s still waiting to get a new house. When Premier Wab Kinew went to Peguis last week, McCorrister asked him when he’ll get a new home.

Inside the Peguis Multiplex Centre, which is being used as the flood hub, McCorrister finished lunch and talked about the split-level house he once kept up with new siding, a new roof, and new windows. It was claimed by the 2022 flood. The water spilled over Highway 224 and flooded his well and septic system before breaching his walls.

“The water was up to my waist as we were trying to move things up from the bottom level,” McCorrister said, gesturing toward his former home, where several feet of water still sits in his mould-ridden basement.

The Fisher River is expected to overflow its banks as early as Friday.

A constant stream of people came in and out of the multiplex and stopped to share how the work has been going or to share a laugh.

“How’s the water around your place?” one man asked another.

“Wet,” he replied, as both of them began chuckling.

“We’re all working as a team… You gotta keep moving, but it takes a toll on you. It’s good, though. The community is safe now.”

Doug Thomas, communications director for the First Nation, said roughly 100 engineers were on the ground as the response intensified. They were joined by dozens of members from Team Rubicon, a non-profit that assists often underserved communities, and the Canadian Red Cross.

Across Peguis, the effort was visible from the ground and the air.

Heavy machinery cut trenches and built up clay dikes around two subdivisions, while drones buzzed overhead, capturing both the scale of the operation and the water inching closer to homes. Many properties were encircled by walls of sandbags and orange Tiger Dams.

Two roads were closed, but the main road in and out of the community remained free from water and held off a full-scale evacuation.

Drone footage underscored the potential catastrophe floods can have. One home sat fully surrounded by water, while another across the river was safe because of a Tiger Dam.

“(The water) is about four feet lower today than it was in 2022,” Thomas said. “We’re hoping it’s not going to be as bad.”

Rain that was forecast for Wednesday night skirted Peguis and by Thursday, the sun was out, the temperature climbed to 18 C. On its face, it’s a welcome break, but the sunshine speeds up the spring thaw.

Still, there was a sense this time might be different.

“There’s more help, and we’re more equipped (this time),” Spence said before returning to sandbagging.

Elsewhere in the province, the Assiniboine River remains under a flood warning as runoff from melting snow continues to move through its watershed.

Provincial officials say overland flooding is possible in low-lying areas, with warmer temperatures accelerating the spring thaw.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca