'Praying things work out': Wildfire pushes toward Leaf Rapids, where sprinklers are protecting homes
Fire has grown from 297 hectares on June 12 to more than 10,500 hectares
Dawn Halcrow has two boats fuelled and ready if the roads out of her northern Manitoba lodge become engulfed in smoke and flames from an approaching wildfire.
In the meantime, the owner of Churchill River Lodge northeast of Leaf Rapids is staying on to keep the pumps going — to keep drawing water from the river and spraying her buildings — and to keep praying.
An out-of-control wildfire more than 10,500 hectares in size is advancing on the opposite shore of the Churchill River from her lodge.
The four cabins she rents out have been evacuated, taken over by fire crews being boated around to hotspots while helicopters and water bombers attack the main fire about four kilometres to the east.
That's been happening for about a week, said Halcrow, who first noticed the smoke several kilometres in the distance on June 12 and reported it to the province. At that time, the fire was estimated to be less than 300 hectares in size, according to the Manitoba government's wildfire map.
"I know what these fires can do. So I mean, I'm a little nervous but I'm praying things work out and they can get this under control," said Halcrow, who experienced major fires in the 1990s.
"I'll be safe here and be able to get out of here as long I don't have to worry about anybody else."
The fire is about eight kilometres northeast of Leaf Rapids, town officials said in a Facebook post. A mandatory evacuation order went out Monday night, forcing the town's residents to head to Thompson, a little over 150 kilometres to the southeast.
Leaf Rapids' population is just over 350, according to census data from 2021.
State of local emergency declared
Municipal officials declared a state of local emergency Monday evening and went door-to-door, telling people they had to get out, said Rick Barentsen, who lives in town and works for the Leaf Rapids Education Centre.
"It was pretty chaotic. For us, it was not too bad, because we've got our own transportation, but I heard from another lady, she was waiting a long time not knowing when buses would arrive," he said.
Several school buses were brought in from Thompson and loaded with passengers heading south.
People were asked to register with the town office before leaving Leaf Rapids, and then check in when they arrived in Thompson.
Barentsen pulled away from town just before 8 p.m. and was in Thompson when the buses arrived.
The buses were so full there were people standing in the aisle, and the ride from Leaf Rapids is 2½ hours over bumpy gravel roads, he said.
Barentsen and his partner were finally sent to a motel around 2 a.m., but he spent the night in his truck because the motel wouldn't allow his dog inside.
"I'm not complaining about it. It was all last-minute and in the middle of the night — pretty hard to get everything arranged," he said. "But unfortunately for me, no pets are allowed in the motel, and I'm not leaving my dog alone in the truck at night.
"My partner has some medical issues so she needs a bed."
Barentsen said his home in Leaf Rapids is on the south side of town. Those on the north side are being protected by sprinklers. Firefighters have turned the school into their base camp.
"There's a huge operation going on," he said.
Forecast calls for northeast winds
The fire has advanced quickly since the weekend. It flared up Sunday but was still pretty far in the distance, about 18 kilometres away, he said.
"We were looking at it and you could see the flames really reflecting in the clouds of smoke."
Barentsen hasn't been told how long he should expect to be in Thompson, but he doesn't expect to leave anytime soon.
The weather forecast calls for northeast winds on Tuesday, which means they "will blow the fire exactly towards town," he said.
Ervin Bighetty, general manager of the Co-op Food Store and gas station in Leaf Rapids, is one of a handful of people staying behind. He said the store and gas station needed to be open to help supply the fire crews, so he and some other staff are sticking around.
"I had to stay and try and help as much as I could," he said, adding the town is eerily quiet.
"It's really weird. When we're walking around town and driving around town, all you hear is dogs barking and every driveway's empty. But to be able to help the firefighters is good."
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With files from Meaghan Ketcheson