Yesterday (Thursday), Saskatchewan (west) became the second province in Canada to declare a state of emergency due to wildfires. This came on the heels of Manitoba (central), which ordered the evacuation of 17,000 residents just a day prior.
Scott Mow, the provincial premier of Saskatchewan, emphasized the gravity of the situation during a news conference. “We are facing a very serious situation,” he stated.
At the beginning of the week, around 4,000 residents were quickly evacuated, and with no rain in the forecast, Mow noted, “we are taking all possible measures to prepare our communities.” He further warned that “the weather forecasts are not favorable, and the situation seems likely to worsen.”
Manitoba is experiencing its worst start to wildfire season in years and declared its own state of emergency on Wednesday, prompting the urgent evacuation of residents from several small communities.
In two remote indigenous communities in the north, Canadian emergency management minister Elinor Olshevski reported that “air force aircraft” were deployed to facilitate rapid evacuations.
Many evacuees traveled overnight by road to Winnipeg, the provincial capital, where they faced considerable exhaustion. “They’ve traveled far from home and are uncertain about whether they’ll find it again, or when they’ll be able to return,” said Luke Mullinter, a Red Cross official in Manitoba.
The mayor of Flin Flon, a mining town of about 5,000 residents located just north of Winnipeg, reported that the last bus was departing, with flames dangerously close—only 500 meters from the community’s boundary.
“The situation is very tense,” Mayor George Fontaine told Agence France-Presse. Firefighters are attempting to control the blaze, but poor visibility due to smoke makes it impossible for firefighting aircraft to operate effectively.
According to forecasts from Canadian authorities, the wildfire season in central and western Canada may be “above normal” for June and July, potentially worsening to “well above average” in August. This is exacerbated by ongoing severe to extreme drought conditions affecting many forested and vegetated areas across the region.
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