Northern Manitoba community evacuates due to wildfire; some starting to return home

Some people are starting to return home Thursday after a wildfire burning near a northern Manitoba community prompted emergency evacuations of more than 7,000 people Wednesday night.

Some people are starting to return home Thursday after a wildfire burning near a northern Manitoba community prompted emergency evacuations of more than 7,000 people Wednesday night.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation community members began fleeing the community as a fire burned roughly two to three kilometres south of the community, according to a bulletin from the province. Photos and videos from the community show a long line of vehicles heading to other locations.

In an interview on Thursday, Chief David Monias credited the emergency response team the community had created during the pandemic as one of the reasons they had a successful evacuation. The team worked to secure vehicles and school buses to help people who couldn’t travel to easily evacuate.

“We were used to working together and evacuating people and moving a large number of people,” he said.