Wildfire Forces Evacuation of Cranberry Portage, Could Take Weeks to Contain: Wildfire Director
A wildfire threatening the northwestern Manitoba community of Cranberry Portage hasn’t expanded, but first responders may still be battling it weeks from now, according to a provincial wildfire official.
The entire population of Cranberry Portage evacuated on Saturday as a massive blaze advanced toward the community, consuming trees across thousands of hectares.
Earl Simmons, director of the Manitoba Wildfire Service, stated that the fire hasn’t moved or diminished. While the province reported it as approximately 35,000 hectares on Sunday, the actual size is about 31,500 hectares (77,838 acres) after accounting for bodies of water.
The fire is about 1.5 kilometers from Cranberry Portage.
“We could be fighting that fire a month from now,” Simmons told reporters outside his department’s office on Monday afternoon.
The fire was moving at an “unbelievable” speed, consuming land at about two kilometers per hour at the front and about one kilometer per hour on the sides. Despite at times traveling against the wind, the fire continued to rage.
In his 40 years of experience with wildfires, Simmons said he has “never seen a fire move like this fire moved,” attributing its rapid spread to high winds and extremely dry conditions in the area.
Although the wildfire situation isn’t improving, the fact that it isn’t worsening is a small victory for Lori Forbes, the municipal emergency coordinator for the region.
Most residents have evacuated to The Pas, while others have relocated to different communities within the province, as well as to Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The fire has affected about 550 residents in the area, but this number may increase, according to the province’s Monday fire bulletin. Cranberry Portage had a population of 608 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
Forbes noted that the entire community has been evacuated, although not everyone may have registered as evacuees.
“We’ve pretty much filled up The Pas, Swan River, probably all the way down to Dauphin. But everyone’s safe, which is our priority,” Forbes said, speaking to CBC News from The Pas, where a reception centre at the Wescana Inn is registering evacuees and arranging accommodations.
“It’s absolute terror, but we try to focus on the fact that you’re safe. You’re here.”
The fire, initially detected on Thursday, is suspected to have been ignited by lightning strikes. Presently, around 50 firefighters are at the scene, with an additional 55 expected to arrive from outside Manitoba by Monday and Tuesday, according to Simmons.
Situated approximately 585 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, near the Saskatchewan border, Cranberry Portage lies along Highway 10, connecting it to Flin Flon, about 40 kilometers to the northwest, and The Pas, 80 kilometers south.
“The only individuals currently in that community are the wildfire services personnel who are still monitoring all of the homes and structures,” Forbes commented on Cranberry Portage’s situation.
