Crews still battling Flin Flon wildfire, even as 'some sense of normality' returns to city

Wildland firefighters from across North America will stay on the front lines of the wildfire near Flin Flon, as residents settle back into life in the northern Manitoba city following a month-long evacuation order.

Improving conditions allowed officials to lift the May 28 evacuation order for the city of roughly 5,000, and residents were able to return as of Wednesday morning.

Flin Flon fire Chief Jason Kuras, whose fire crews have been putting in 18- to 20-hour days since the wildfire crossed the border from Saskatchewan on May 27, says all the hard work was worth it to bring locals home.

"It's absolutely amazing to have everybody back in town here," Kuras said. "It's just really good to have some sense of normality coming back."

In the first few days of the wildfire, Kuras said the city's firefighters — who typically respond to structural fire calls — were alone, fighting right at the edge of the wildfire's front lines. 

They worked to contain key areas, as firefighters from across North America were on their way to join. 

"We had members doing everything they possibly could, with whatever equipment we could have," Kuras said. 

Nearly 200 firefighters from more than 50 municipalities and fire departments answered the call for help, bringing fire trucks, boats and other necessary equipment with them to the city, more than 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

It's a response Kuras said he will forever be grateful for. 

Davis Oatway, one of the incident commanders, came up from Utah with his eight-person crew of wildland firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service. 

He said the Flin Flon fire is one of the worst he's seen. 

"I've certainly been on some very large and very complex wildfires throughout my career, but this is the most challenging incident commander assignment I've ever had," Oatway said. 

His crew focused largely on securing the fire perimeter, and protecting the city and nearby lake communities, which helped to hold back the fire, Oatway said. 

Now that the city is safe enough to welcome residents home, Oatway said his crew is heading further out into the surrounding fire zone to help fight the blaze.