Chemawawin, Easterville to lift state of emergency after Manitoba forest fires
The state of emergency for Chemawawin Cree Nation and Easterville is expected to be lifted Monday afternoon after a rainy weekend helped combat forest fires near the Manitoba communities.
The area about 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg has been under the state of emergency since last week as flames crept as close as 100 metres to homes.
Chemawawin Chief Clarence Easter said late Sunday evening that provincial conservation officials reported the fire was no longer affecting the community.
As a result, the emergency designation will likely be lifted at 3 p.m., which means people will begin to be allowed to return — a few at a time.
"[We need to first] make sure that everything is safe to go home to. We have to check on, you know, the water, make sure the water is there, make sure the power is there, make sure there's no damage that way," he said.
"What I know is that there's no structures that burned down. Everything's still intact."