Manitoba mulls total burn ban as wildfire forces evacuation

The province may soonorder aban onstarting any fires even in firepits.

The warning comes after the evacuation of cottages near Caddy Lake on Sunday because of a wildfire.

Wide swaths of Manitoba are experiencingdrought-like conditions as cottagers prepare for the May long weekend.

"A few weeks back we banned all fires except in approved pits and then we upped the restriction to only fires in pits in the evenings, and we'll be reviewing this week and we might eliminate all fires altogether," said Earl Simmons, Manitoba Sustainable Development's regional field supervisor foreastern Manitoba. "It's extremely dry."

Simmons, who hasworkedfor the province for more than 30 years, said he doesn't remember it being this dryexcept for a period in the late 1980s.

Provincial firefighters are battling flamesthroughout the province, particularly in the eastern and central regions, as well as in western Manitoba near the Duck Mountain and Spruce Woods provincial parks.

Eastern Manitoba alone has 12 fires raging, he said.

Firefighters need time off

Simmons said water bombers and crewsare arriving from Quebec and they needout-of-province firefighters.

"Most of our firefighters are coming up to working 24 days straight and we just have to give them some time off," he said on Monday morning.

The wildfire near Caddy Lake and West Hawk Lake is out of control, forcing evacuations.

Firefighters havesurrounded the 38-hectare blaze in the Whiteshell areafrom the ground and theair, but the blaze remainsunpredictable.

"The fire ...is almost 100 per cent contained at this time, but it's still considered out of control," Simmons said.

A provincial spokesperson added that large sections inside the suppression area have not burned and the tall trees aresusceptible to ignition.

The blaze was spotted Sunday near the Manitoba-Ontario border, prompting evacuations,the deployment of water bombers and a highway closure.

About 20 cottagers at Caddy Lake and McDougall's Landing and Big Island Landing on West Hawk Lake were told to evacuate the area. They were sheltered in Ingolf, Ont.

A tree landing on a hydro line caused the fire, which is adjacent to several cottages, Simmons said.

No structures have beenlost. Firefighters saved the provincial fish hatchery on Highway 312by placing a fire-retardant foam around thebuildings, Simmons said.

On Sunday, seven water bomberswere dispatched to the fire, which started on the south end of Caddy Lake and was pushed to the southeast bywind.

Sacha Harder, owner of the couples resort Tallpine Lodges in West Hawk Lake, saw the smoke on Sunday and called 911.

"It didn't create a haze over here, but ... you could see it very clearly across the lake," she said.

Neighbours relieved

The fire is nothing like the nearly 6,000 hectare blaze that burned in the area in2016, but the worrypersists.

"It's really dry up here; it just takes one wrong shift of the wind," she said.

Jan Cmela, whoowns a cottage at Green Bay Resort on the east side of Caddy Lake,heard of the spreading forest fire from the Facebook posts of her neighbouring cottagers. She was not at her cabin at the time.

"It's a very close-knit group so (the fire)coming that close is a little scary, especially withno rain in the forecast."

The province closed Highway 312 from Highway 44 to the Ontario border around 6:30 p.m. CT Sunday due to thefire.

Wildfire burning just south of Caddy Lake

6 years ago

Duration 1:22

The province may soon order a ban on starting any fires even in firepits. The warning comes after the evacuation of cottages near Caddy Lake on Sunday because of a wildfire.