Up to 10 homes, buildings burn down in Little Saskatchewan First Nation, Interlake

Fires destroyed five homes on Little Saskatchewan First Nation and five other buildings in the Interlake Monday as extremely dry conditions and burn bans blanket that area and parts of southern Manitoba.

Monica Harvey, band manager of the community about 220 kilometres north of Winnipeg, said two separate fires burned the homes down.

"It was out of control completely," Harvey said. "Devastation for our community."

A bush fire on the south side of the community destroyed two homes, while a second fire on the north side of the First Nation burned down three other homes.

"The fire, it's destroying everything that we had," said Muriel Woodford, who lost her home, photos of her children when they were kids and nearly all her possessions. "It did burn down to the ground."

Burn bans are in place in much of southern Manitoba and the Interlake, including in Little Saskatchewan, amid extremely dry spring conditions, the Manitoba government fire restriction web page says.

Eight fires destroyed up to 10 homes and buildings in Little Saskatchewan, Fairford, Lake St. Martin and the surrounding area on Monday, said Manitoba Sustainable Development wildfire program manager Gary Friesen. All eight fires were human caused and are being investigated by RCMP.

"Our water bombers and crews were kept quite busy helping local fire departments," said Friesen, with arid conditions making it difficult to contain blazes.

"It's staying dry and drying more every day with the temperatures and the winds, and also the low relative humidity."

In addition to burn bans, the province also announced travel restrictions for much of southeastern, central and western Manitoba, including Spruce Woods Provincial Forest, Duck Mountain Provincial Forest, the Mars Hill Wildlife Management Area and a number of provincial parks. Backcountry travel in those areas is restricted or requires a permit.

Campfire restrictions are in place for all provincial parks in southern Manitoba. Campfires in approved firepits are allowed but restricted between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.

A map showing information on travel and fire restrictions has been posted online.

'Waiting for a match'

Chris Rawluk runs Ace Hardware and Rawluk's Fine Foods in Gypsumville, Man. He witnessed a home burn down off Davis Point Road north of Fairford on Monday.

Rawluk said the flood of 2011 left vast amounts of dead trees and brush in its wake once waters receded. He thinks given the dry conditions in the province right now that all of that woody debris could be helping fires spread.

"You've got this standing, dead, that is just a tinderbox waiting for a match," he said.

"People need to be vigilant and aware of the situation and just how dangerous it is with the winds and conditions that we've got here."

"I think the potential for it to get a lot worse is there and people need to be very careful."

'It's so dry here'

Harvey said the Little Saskatchewan fires initially did not seem too bad but worsened as the wind picked up. Fire crews arrived and tried to save as many homes as they could.

"We thought we had it under control; we were hosing it down and wetting it, and we had our water trucks out, and then it got out of control and that's when we had to call the fire department."

No one was injured in the fires, Harvey said, and the causes are not yet known.

Before it was snuffed out, one of the blazes came dangerously close to the band office, and Harvey said for a time there was concern the community might have to declare a state of emergency.

There are a few fires still burning around the community that local crews are monitoring closely, Harvey said.

"We've been battling these fires for about two weeks already and we don't know who is starting them," she said.

"It's so dry here, they've been going out of control."

Fairford fire

Helgi and Dale Einarsson, from nearby Dauphin River, were driving north toward Fairford at about 4:30 p.m. Monday when they spotted a fire about 20 kilometres southwest of Little Saskatchewan.

Friesen said outbuildings (sheds, barns and garages) were destroyed in Fairford.

"The wind was blowing the smoke all the way across the No. 6 Highway," said Helgi Einarsson. "The smoke was up fairly high but there was quite a bit coming through the trees across the road."

Dale Einarsson, his wife, said they could also see faint signs of smoke coming from the Little Saskatchewan area.

'Doesn't feel like home'

The Einarssons and Muriel Woodford and her husband were among residents from four area First Nations and local communities forced to leave their homes during a flood in 2011.

The Einarssons moved back shortly after the evacuation in 2011, but Woodford just moved back in November. She and her family were still getting settled into a newly built house when the fire took down their old home.

The old home was still being used to house most of their possessions.

"We still had stuff in that house.… Everything burned there," she said, adding her son had been staying in the old home but got out safely. "I even thought about moving back there because this house where I am living doesn't feel like home."

There were 42 fires in Manitoba this spring as of Monday morning, and that number likely has gone up. 

A large wildfire in southeastern Manitoba last week forced the rural municipality of Piney to call a state of emergency. Friesen said fire crews continue to monitor that fire and it is under control.