Hundreds flee as shift in winds blows raging wildfire closer to Marcel Colomb First Nation

A wildfire raging in northern Manitoba has prompted the full-scale evacuation of Marcel Colomb First Nation community, forcing hundreds to flee overnight.

The First Nation's chief administration officer, Don McCallum, said a sudden shift in the winds Wednesday blew the wildfire directly at the community, blanketing it with heavy smoke and prompting the evacuation order.

Members of the First Nation were relocated overnight to Thompson, The Pas and Lynn Lake. A group of about 100 evacuees will be taken to Winnipeg, about 800 kilometres to the southeast, Thursday afternoon, McCallum said.

"They feel lonely," he said. "They're leaving their homes and they're going to places they've never been." 

Security personnel are staying in Marcel Colomb First Nation, looking after administrative buildings in the community. But McCallum said the crews left are prepared to "evacuate immediately" in the event of an emergency. 

The winds did not subside Thursday, and the wildfire fire has "gotten even worse," he said.

The province says the wildfire is designated out of control and now stretches just over 824 hectares.

"It is a substantial amount of hectares burning," McCallum said. "We don't want it to spread any further because it's going to go into the community, the First Nation." 

At an unrelated news conference Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew said wildfire services in the province are working "around the clock" to ensure people in the area are kept safe. 

Four water bombers have been used to fight the fire, and sprinkler systems installed on roofs throughout the community have been running continuously. No property within the community has been burned or damaged by the wildfire at this point, said McCallum.

"We're not allowing anybody to go back into the community until we get the OK from the fire marshal," he said, adding that might not happen until Monday at the earliest.

Evacuees flock to Lynn Lake 

A partial evacuation, focused on getting elders, children and their families to the Lynn Lake Arena, was organized earlier this week, with about 50 people being relocated about 35 kilometres west to Lynn Lake.

Maggie Braido is one of the volunteers from Lynn Lake who has been helping the evacuees.

Braido said Marcel Colomb first received notice of a full-scale evacuation Wednesday afternoon, as the First Nation started to fill with heavy smoke and they "didn't think they could stay any longer." 

"They immediately got started, taking busloads and busloads of people to Lynn Lake," she said, with the last buses "kind of trickling in just before midnight."

"Everyone kind of left in a hurry," Braido said. 

The Canadian Red Cross said it is assisting with accommodation support, transportation and meals during the evacuation.

Evacuees who spent their first night in Lynn Lake stayed in the town's arena, with hotels in the area booked up earlier to house firefighters, Braido said.

The evacuation happened as Marcel Colomb First Nation's chief and the majority of its council were out of province for an annual general meeting unrelated to the fire situation.

"The community is extremely unique," Braido said. "They were just so resilient, the way everyone was working together, especially without a lot of formal leadership."

A volunteer-based crew has since been helping cook meals and take care of the evacuees who are staying at Lynn Lake's recreation centre.

"Our mayor and council said we will take care of them for as long as they need," Braido said.