All residents and visitors in Flin Flon, Manitoba, have been ordered to evacuate by midnight on May 28, according to the city.
Everyone who is able to arrange their own transportation has been advised to leave as soon as possible, the city said in a post on social media. It also advised everyone to leave “in a calm and orderly manner.”
“We understand that this is distressing, but we urge everyone to proceed calmly and as orderly as possible,” the post said. “It’s important to get moving quickly, but deliberately. It’s critical that no highway accidents or traffic jams impede exit from the community.”
The evacuation order comes hours after Premier Wab Kinew warned residents in Flin Flon to be ready to evacuate if a nearby wildfire continues to approach the city.
The large blaze started in Creighton, Sask., a few kilometres from Flin Flon, and crossed over the border on May 27, putting the nearly 5,000 residents in the area at risk.
He said the city has posted information on its Facebook page for residents in the area to get live updates. He also said that hotels around the province are already full, and additional shelter spaces will be needed if the evacuation order comes.
“We’ve been moving people out of communities across Manitoba for several weeks now,“ Kinew said, adding ”hundreds and hundreds” of people are still out of their homes.
“We’re going to be turning to other folks in the community, not necessarily private residences, but companies and communities across the province to potentially open your doors,” he added.
Government officials at the press conference said the hospital in Flin Flon is already evacuating patients as a precautionary measure.
There are 18 active wildfires in the province, and a total of 96 so far this year, according to Kristin Hayward, the assistant deputy minister responsible for the province’s wildfire services. She said that was higher than the 20-year average of 77 wildfires.
More than 198,000 hectares have burned in the province this year, Hayward said. The five-year average is 70,500.
“We have almost almost tripled the amount of area burned in just one month compared to our annual average,” Hayward said.
All but four of the fires have been confirmed or are suspected to have been caused by human activity, she said.
“This is an abnormal level of fire activity in the province for this time of year that’s largely due to conditions, the temperatures, very low humidity, lack of precipitation and a lot of available fuels,” Hayward said.
She added that Manitoba has had the “highest fire activity in Canada” so far this year, attributing it to a prolonged period of warm and dry conditions in the province.
Kinew said other provinces have been helping to fight the Manitoba wildfires, including New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, in addition to support from Parks Canada.
Kinew warned residents against using drones in the areas affected by wildfires after water bombers had to be grounded the previous day due to drone interference, impacting efforts to fight the encroaching fire.
“Putting your drone up there and getting a video that you can share is simply not worth it,” the premier said.
“You have to put the good of the community ahead of your own interests right now. You should probably do so at all times, but especially right now when we’re dealing with an emergency situation in many parts of the province.”
