Sprinklers part of ‘hyper-vigilant’ response to eastern Manitoba wildfires

Sprinklers are protecting about half a dozen homes and cabins from two wildfires in eastern Manitoba, where officials and residents are on alert after last year’s devastating season.

Both fires in Agassiz Provincial Forest — one north of Milner Ridge, and the other northeast of Spring Well — were listed as out of control as of Tuesday, said Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel.

“Despite the rain that we got earlier on in May, it’s extremely dry. These fires certainly heighten the awareness again of what we went through last year,” Schinkel said.

“I think everybody is very hyper-vigilant because of what we went through last year, and we need to be. That’s the reality. Let’s think about being fire smart.”

Two people were killed and more than two dozen properties were destroyed in a wildfire that rapidly swept through part of the RM in May 2025.

Manitoba had 35 actives wildfires as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, including five that were out of control, the Winnipeg-based Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said. The province had reported seven active fires one week earlier, on May 26.

The blaze north of Milner Ridge was the largest of the two in Agassiz Provincial Forest, measuring about 300 hectares.

“They’re holding it, or they’re saying they’re gaining some ground on it,” Schinkel said, after getting an update from the RM fire chief and emergency management team Tuesday morning.

Sprinklers were set up to protect two or three residences closer to Provincial Road 317, he said.

“We’re hopeful it won’t make it that way, but with its current trajectory and the wind, that’s why they took those steps (Monday) night,” Schinkel said.

“Despite the rain that we got earlier on in May, it’s extremely dry.”

Lac du Bonnet Fire Department members went to homes on the perimeter of the forest to assess potential risk. Additional sprinklers were expected to be set up in the area Tuesday.

The blaze northeast of Spring Well was about 90 hectares. The RM is referring to it as the Red Deer fire because it is in the Red Deer Hills area.

Sprinklers were set up at two remote cabins, Schinkel said.

Water bombers, helicopters and ground crews were attacking the fires and contractors were using heavy equipment to build fire breaks in some places.

“We couldn’t do this alone. Thanks to everybody that gets involved in this,” Schinkel said.

He was told both fires, which were detected Sunday, were caused by human activity.

“If Mother Nature could give us some moisture, that would really help us out,” Schinkel said.

A third fire in the RM, also caused by human activity, was extinguished in the Granite Recreational Park on Sunday.

Campers, residents and staff used garden hoses, buckets, fire extinguishers, and a 1,000-litre water tank, donated by GlobalMedic after last year’s season, to prevent the blaze from spreading. The tank is set on a trailer and equipped with a pump and hose.

Schinkel said multiple donated tanks and trailers from GlobalMedic were placed with cottage associations to respond to situations such as Sunday’s fire.

“It shows that the actions that we’re taking as a municipality certainly are working,” he said.

In northern Manitoba, crews expect to extinguish a contained wildfire on Fort Island, in Norway House Cree Nation, by the weekend, the community said in a statement on social media.

The fire, which covered 80 hectares, forced a temporary evacuation of some homes Friday, but no longer posed a threat.

“If Mother Nature could give us some moisture, that would really help us out.”

Some municipalities imposed burning restrictions or bans to try to prevent human-caused wildfires during the recent spell of hot and dry weather. Some fires were sparked by lightning.

Environment and Climate Change Canada advised residents of western and southern Manitoba to monitor the forecast for severe thunderstorms Tuesday, with potential risks including lightning, localized rainfall of up to 50 millimetres per hour, wind gusts of up to 120 km/h, and large hail.

“An isolated tornado or two” could not be ruled out, the agency warned.

Storms could last into Wednesday morning. There is another risk of thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and evening, meteorologist Chloe Katsademas said.

“Definitely keep an eye on the (severe weather) watches as they come through,” she said.

Parts of northern Manitoba, meanwhile, were under a yellow-level heat warning Tuesday.

Winnipeg, although not included in the warning, was temporarily Canada’s hot spot at about noon Tuesday, with a temperature of 27.7 C and rising.

Environment Canada said a cold front will bring daytime highs in the low to mid-20s on Wednesday, and possibly 18 C on Thursday.

“It’s definitely going to be a little bit cooler into the mid-week,” Katsademas said. “Once this system and everything passes through, we’re going to be back into the sunny weather and warm weather for the weekend.”

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca