Massive northwestern Manitoba fire has grown, province says in latest update
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A wildfire near Cranberry Portage has grown in size, but hasn't moved any closer to the northwestern Manitoba community, the province said in its latest fire bulletin Thursday afternoon.
The fire, north of Cranberry Portage and east of the city of Flin Flon, now covers approximately 37,000 hectares, the province says. Wednesday's update said the fire covered 31,600 hectares.
The blaze is still approximately 1½ kilometres away from Cranberry Portage, which has seen residents evacuated to The Pas.
The fire has also prompted evacuation orders from the nearby cottage subdivisions of Sourdough Bay, Whitefish Lake, Twin Lakes and Schist Lake North, as well as Bakers Narrows Provincial Park.
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A reception centre at the Victoria Inn in Flin Flon is set up to support evacuees and assist with accommodations for residents affected by evacuation orders.
About 675 residents have been evacuated from the area as of Thursday afternoon, but the province said the number might increase as conditions change.
There's no estimated return date for residents, the province said.
Air tankers and helicopters with buckets continue to battle the blaze, with more crews from Manitoba being added daily, along with Parks Canada firefighters arriving Thursday, the province said. Additional crews from New Brunswick and Quebec are expected to arrive in the coming week.
The fire also crossed a section of railway between Cranberry Portage and Pukatawagan, resulting in minimal damage that has since been repaired, Thursday's update said. Train service is expected to resume in the coming days, according to the province.
Communications services to the Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage and Sherridon areas have been restored following an outage, the fire bulletin said.
The fire, believed to have been started by lightning strikes, was first detected last Thursday. It grew quickly due to high winds and extremely dry conditions, forcing the community of Cranberry Portage to be evacuated on Saturday.
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This article was originally published for CBC News on May 16, 2024. Header image courtesy of Justin Fraser/CBC.
