Garden Hill issues full-scale evacuation after wildfire enters northern Manitoba
A wildfire has breached the northern Manitoba community of Garden Hill Anisininew Nation, prompting a "full-scale" evacuation order.
"Chief Dino Flett and the council have declared this urgent measure to protect the lives and safety of all residents … as a dangerous wildfire has now entered the community," said a Thursday morning news release from the First Nation, a remote fly-in community on the north shore of Island Lake.
"This is an unprecedented and devastating time for our community and our people," Flett said in the release.
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"We are taking every possible step to ensure the safety of our residents, especially our elders, children, and those with urgent medical needs. I humbly ask for prayers from all nations and supporters as we face this crisis."
On Wednesday Dwayne Chornoby posted photos and videos of multiple water bombers fighting an out-of-control wildfire burning near the Garden Hill First Nation. (Dwayne Chornoby/Facebook)
Manitoba emergency officials have scheduled a news conference on Thursday afternoon to provide an update on the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
CBC Manitoba will livestream the 12:45 p.m. CT news conference here and on CBC Gem.
The release from Garden Hill says evacuation operations "are being carried out with urgency and care" and urges residents to remain calm, follow all official instructions and assist one another where possible.
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Further updates will be provided through official Garden Hill Anisininew Nation communication channels, the release said.
Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday morning that Ottawa has sent the Canadian Armed Forces to help with the evacuation.
Garden Hill is home to more than 4,500 people and located about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
That comes after the town of Snow Lake (about 590 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg) issued a mandatory evacuation order Wednesday night.
The town had been under a 12-hour evacuation advisory, but just after 10 p.m., the evacuation order was posted on its Facebook page, telling all residents to leave by Thursday at noon.
There are three separate fires burning within 25 kilometres of the town of just over 1,000 residents, the province's most recent wildfire update said.
This article, written by Darren Bernhardt, was originally published for CBC News.