Lac du Bonnet wildfire forces out nearly 1,000 people during 'very dark day' in eastern Manitoba
CBC
Hundreds of people have been forced out of a swath of cottage country in eastern Manitoba as a raging out-of-control wildfire near Lac du Bonnet quickly grew in intensity through the late afternoon and evening on Tuesday.
"Yesterday was a very dark day for our region here, certainly," said Loren Schinkel, reeve of the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet, said Wednesday morning.
"Late last night we extended the evacuation order for the seventh time because of the situation where the wind shifted. I would estimate that there's 800 to 1,000 people that have been displaced from their residences as of last night.
Cooler temperatures have moved into the province but "we're still not out of the woods here, so to speak, because the fire is still burning" and there is concern the new winds, now coming from the north rather than the south, will push push the flames back across Highway 313, he told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.
"I have to commend all of the people that were out on the front lines trying to save properties throughout the night. The RCMP certainly were out there protecting life and or property and our front-line crews were out there trying to save properties as well," Schinkel said.
There are no reports of injuries but there has been "significant loss of structures" around the Wendigo Beach area," he said. "We're still not certain of the amount of damage in those areas, but that assessment will be a process that's ongoing today.
"It burned so quickly yesterday, the fire was jumping. It was a tough day."
Updates on the fire are being posted on the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet website.
John Fleming, emergency coordinator for the RM of Lac du Bonnet, posted a message on the organization's Facebook page Wednesday morning, saying an assessment of properties affected by the fire will be done immediately in order to update everyone on the status of their properties.
"I ask for your patience as this is a large undertaking and we want to be accurate with our information sharing," he wrote.
Electricity has been disrupted, with burned hydro poles and wires on the ground in some areas. That has to be fixed before anyone can go back.
The RCMP have sent additional officers to the Lac du Bonnet region to assist with evacuations, patrol evacuated areas, and provide other supports required by local authorities, the Mounties said in a news release Tuesday night.
That includes a team of 12 highly-trained officers from the search and rescue unit, the release stated.
They have set up roadblocks along multiple points of Highway 313 with only emergency personnel allowed to pass.
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