Manitoba gains edge on wildfires, allowing evacuees from 4 First Nations to return home
More than half of the 3,800 evacuees from First Nations are returning home
Some Manitoba wildfire evacuees are returning home, but hundreds more remain in hotels while crews battle to protect their communities from flames.
The Canadian Red Cross is working with First Nations leaders to return evacuees to Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Berens River First Nation, Bloodvein First Nation, and Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, also known as Nelson House.
The process started on Monday, with the hope of having virtually everyone from the four communities home by the end of Thursday, Red Cross spokesperson Jason Small said Wednesday.
The aid agency is currently helping more than 3,800 evacuees from various First Nations under threat from fires raging through drought conditions in the province.
There are 475 from Pauingassi, 960 from Little Grand Rapids, 1,200 from Berens River, 680 from Bloodvein, 520 from Tataskweyak and 43 from Nisichawayasihk.
Most are in hotels in Winnipeg and Brandon, with a few in Thompson.
The number will be reduced by more than 2,500 once the people from Tataskweyak, Berens River, Bloodvein and Nisichawayasihk are safely home. When that happens, there will no longer be any evacuees in Brandon, Small said.
"That's great news. The whole goal when we do this is to support people as long as they need to be out, but of course we'd rather everybody be back in their own homes," he said.
Evacuees from Berens River and Tataskweyak began returning home Monday, with almost all home by the following day.
Most evacuees from Nisichawayasihk were also home by the end of the day Tuesday, while members of Bloodvein started the trek home Wednesday, the Red Cross said.
There is no word yet on any imminent return for the evacuees from Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids First Nation.
"We understand this is a very difficult situation, being out of your homes and the uncertainty around that," Small said.
"We're doing our best to make sure that people have all the support they need and working with our various partners to help them get that support so that the stay is as comfortable as it possibly can be."
Happy to be home
Ellen Young, a Bloodvein First Nation band councillor, said community members are thrilled to be home.
Community members were forced to leave their homes on July 19 with little notice.
"Being cooped up in a hotel room for three weeks, with maybe six people in a room and you have four kids, can be trying," she said.
With help from the Red Cross, who provided large buses for transportation, the First Nation was able to get most of its members home within two days.
Aside from some damage caused by curious bears that broke into one home and destroyed a few trash bins, there was little to no damage to the community, she said.
Young said she's grateful to the Red Cross, firefighters and the organizations in Winnipeg that helped keep kids entertained while they were forced to live in hotels.
"We really appreciate all the work that they've done."
The Red Cross has been called on to help seven different First Nations during this fire season. Evacuees from Red Sucker Lake went home a couple of weeks ago.
More help on the way
There are currently 143 fires burning in Manitoba, with 11 classified as out of control, provincial data says.
There have been 431 wildfires so far this year. The average for this time is 370.
Recent rainfalls across the province had taken some of the pressure off, said Dave Schafer, head of the Manitoba Wildfire Services.
"It allows us to regroup and prioritize the new fires that we have to go after, the ones that were too active and unsafe to put personnel on, but also to make headway on the ones that we were already working on."
Meanwhile, more than 100 firefighters from South Africa, along with their support staff, arrived Wednesday to help battle Manitoba's wildfires. They are expected to be in the province for 34 days.
WATCH | A team of South African firefighters arrive to help battle Manitoba's wildfires:
The South African contingent will join more than 400 Manitoba firefighters as well as others from across Canada — Quebec, the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Ontario — and crews with Parks Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces and the state of Michigan, who are already deployed around the province.
Trevor Abrahams, who is leading the South African firefighters, says his team members are eager to get to work.
"We have a fit young team, very active and very anxious to show what we can do."
Manitoba has six water bombers, which have been supplemented by two more from Quebec, four from the Northwest Territories and more than two dozen helicopters.
The help from South African firefighters was arranged by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, a not-for-profit corporation owned and operated by federal, provincial and territorial wildfire management agencies.
They were all tested for COVID-19 before they left South Africa and will be retested in Winnipeg.
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With files from Sean Kavanagh and Austin Grabish