News briefs for Monday, September 7, 2026

Four teens dead in crash near Winnipeg Beach

4:52 PM

Four teenagers have died in a highway crash near Winnipeg Beach.

Manitoba RCMP are investigating the two-vehicle collision, which happened at about 9:15 p.m. Sept. 6. A vehicle travelling west on Highway 229 was struck while crossing Highway 8, RCMP stated in a news release Monday.

Everyone inside the westbound vehicle died at the scene, including the driver, an 18-year-old female from Winnipeg, and three passengers: an 18-year-old male from Gimli, an 18-year-old female from Sandy Hook and a 17-year-old male from Ear Falls, Ont.

The intersection is controlled by stop signs for westbound and eastbound traffic. Both vehicles went into the southwest ditch, with one vehicle rolling and landing on its roof, RCMP stated.

Four people travelling in the other vehicle, a van driven by a 49-year-old male, suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital in Winnipeg. They include two children and an adult female.

Gimli RCMP responded to the crash and a traffic reconstructionist from RCMP’s traffic services was called to assist in the ongoing investigation, the release stated.

Man charged with arson in College Avenue fire

1:05 PM

A 46-year-old man has been charged with arson after a fire inside a multi-suite residence in the 300 block of College Avenue.

The Winnipeg Police Service’s north district general patrol unit responded to the fire report just before 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5. When police arrived, they learned a tenant in the building was believed to have set the fire. The man had gone back to his suite and wasn’t co-operating with police.

“A use of force encounter took place, and he was taken into custody without incident. No other tenants were injured as a result of the fire,” the WPS stated in a news release Monday.

James Andrew Laferriere, 46, has been charged with four counts of arson with disregard for human life. He was detained in custody.

Thousands affected by storm-related power outages

10:33 AM

Thousands are still without power in Winnipeg after high winds and thunderstorms knocked out power lines Sunday.

About 4,000 Manitoba Hydro customers were still dealing with outages this morning after crews worked to restore power in the Westwood and River Heights areas, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. On Sunday, Hydro reported outages affecting approximately 6, 700 customers.

The high winds and heavy rain brought down trees and broke power poles, causing “very severe damage,” in River Heights, one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, while some of the damage in the Westwood area appeared to be caused by lightning strikes, Chura said.

Thunderstorms rolled in at about 6 p.m. Sunday and brought heavy rain and high winds to some areas of the province. Winnipeg received about 35 mm of rain, while some areas got almost double that. More than 62 mm was recorded at The Forks and 68.8 mm was recorded at Portage Southport, according to Environment Canada.