Fire ravages wilderness camp in northern Manitoba
Main kitchen of Camp Whitney was fully engulfed in flames when police arrived, RCMP say
Several buildings in a northwestern Manitoba wilderness camp were burned in a wildfire on the weekend, discovered by someone cruising past on a Jet Ski, RCMP say.
Police were called around 1:30 p.m. Sunday after that person noticed a significant amount of smoke at Camp Whitney on the shore Athapapuskow Lake, about 20 kilometres southeast of Flin Flon.
RCMP rushed to the camp by boat and found the main kitchen fully engulfed in flames, a Tuesday news release from the Mounties stated, noting that several other structures were also damaged.
Officers determined nobody was at the camp, and provincial fire crews sent a water bomber to dump foam on the flames.
Flin Flon's fire department also attended with water pumps, helping to keep the fire from spreading further.
The site had been rented out on the weekend but the group had already left the camp, which is owned by the City of Flin Flon.
The facilities were closed up by a caretaker around 11:30 a.m., RCMP said.
The initial investigation has not found anything suspicious about the fire at this time, the news release stated.
The Office of the Fire Commissioner continues its investigation into the cause, and the Manitoba Wildfire Service is monitoring the area to ensure the fire does not reignite.
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