'Very excited to go home': Evacuated First Nations returning weeks after fire knocks out power
CTV
Residents from Little Grand Rapids First Nation can finally return home after being displaced in Winnipeg for two and a half months.
Residents from Little Grand Rapids First Nation can finally return home after being displaced in Winnipeg for two and a half months.
Catherine Duck is from the community and has been living at the Best Western Plus Hotel since she was evacuated.
"It's been since July 12 we've been living in Winnipeg, so we're finally going home [Monday]."
In July, more than 130 wildfires were burning across Manitoba, and four First Nations communities in eastern Manitoba were evacuated, including Little Grand Rapids.
Duck got the word she could leave on Friday.
"Most people are very excited to go home," she said. "They miss the lake, they miss fishing, and derby's, and traditional foods like pickerel and moose meat."
The wildfires damaged a remote power line that serves about 1,500 people in Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nations. The damage left 89 poles and 35 structures in need of repair.