Evacuated residents return to God's Lake First Nation, but wildfire that forced them out still out of control

Vulnerable residents who were evacuated from a First Nation community in northeastern Manitoba have returned home, but the wildfire that forced them out is still raging out of control while the province is choosing to fight only a part of it.

The smoke from the fire led to the partial evacuation of God's Lake First Nation in late July. Hundreds with respiratory issues, underlying health conditions and elders stayed at Winnipeg hotels for less than two weeks as air quality in the community continued to worsen.

The Canadian Red Cross said some members of the First Nation started heading home on Saturday. By the end of the long weekend, all those forced out of the community had returned. 

God's Lake First Nation is the first such community in the province to see evacuated residents return home. But at least two other Manitoba First Nations hope to follow suit and start returning their members in coming days. 

"We don't have so much of a concern at the moment, I think it's safe to bring people back now," St. Theresa Point First Nation Chief Raymond Flett said.

Residents with respiratory issues left the community on Thursday and Friday. Flett says the partial evacuation was a "precautionary measure" to prevent them from getting sick due to the worsening air quality.

But precipitation on the long weekend and a shift in winds have since helped the wildfire smoke to recede. 

Evacuations were halted, and with more rain in the short-term forecast, Flett is proposing the band council start coordinating with the Red Cross and bring the 220 evacuees currently staying at Brandon hotels back. 

Earl Simmons, director of the Manitoba Wildfire Service, said Manto Sipi Cree Nation is also considering returning evacuees. Vulnerable residents were evacuated from the First Nation in northeastern Manitoba last week after a cloud of heavy wildfire smoke blanketed the community. 

The Red Cross said 365 people from Manto Sipi Cree Nation are registered and staying at hotels in Brandon, nearly 700 kilometres southwest of the community.

The wildfire that forced hundreds to evacuate from five communities in northeastern Manitoba is still burning out of control, stretching around 30,000 hectares in size. 

"The fire is growing a little bit because we're only doing a limited action on that fire, we're only fighting one side of that fire," Simmons said. 

The wildfire is still 25 to 30 kilometres away from the closest community, and in areas where its path does not threaten infrastructure or residents. Simmons said the province is letting the fire run its own course.

"Quite simply once they get that big, we don't have the resources to fight fires that size and there would be no economic reason to put out the fire," he said. "There's no forestry values or infrastructure values."