Manitoba has biggest fire risk in Canada
CBC News | Posted: May 18, 2012 2:34 PM | Last Updated: May 18, 2012
Wildfire evacuees in village of Badger return home
Southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario have the most extreme risk of forest fires in the country.
Natural Resources Canada's updated fire danger map has coloured those areas in red, while the majority of the country is listed as low or moderate, which means fires are unlikely or "gentle" and easily contained.
Southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are listed as extreme, which means fires are fast-spreading and intense.
"Fire danger is a relative index of how easy it is to ignite vegetation, how difficult a fire may be to control, and how much damage a fire may do," according to the government.
There are three major wildfires that have been raging in Manitoba for the past week. But for the past two days, crews have managed to keep them from spreading.
Return to Badger
Evacuees forced from their homes by the wildfire near the village of Badger are on their way home.
Councillors for the Rural Municipality of Piney, where the village is located, made that decision in consultation with officials from Manitoba Conservation on Friday.
One of the evacuees, Vern Davis, said there's only one word to describe his feelings: "great."
"Yeah, it's only [been] four days or something like that but it feels like forever," he said.
The community, in the southeast corner of Manitoba, was evacuated on Sunday. The order affected 16 people.
Still, Reeve Duane Boutang said while most of the hotspots are under control the conditions are by no means ideal.
"We have to get at least two inches of rain. That's the only thing that will make this thing even more bearable. It's so dry," he said.
As a result, the RM has tightened fire restrictions. Anyone caught with a backyard fire faces a fine of $500.
As well, travel bans and fire restrictions in the area are still in place.
The fire near is approximately 5,300 hectares (53 square kilometres) in size, according to the Manitoba government.
Vita fire
Municipal fire crews from eastern Manitoba continue to work on a large fire of approximately 41 square kilometres located in the Rural Municipality of Stuartburn, south of Highway 201.
Marchand fire
Work continues to put out a fire south of Marchand, which remains approximately 11 square kilometres in size. No structures are threatened at this time.
No official causes of any of the fires have been determined at this time but investigators continue to look into it.