Note: This story is a live file and will be updated as new information arrives. This story was last updated at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Staff members from The Reminder have evacuated Flin Flon, but will keep writing updates as long as possible during the emergency. If you have questions or concerns you would like us to chase or add here about the fire, evacuations or anything else, please notify us at [email protected].
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It was go-home day for people in Cranberry Portage, Sherridon and Snow Lake Saturday - and cabinowners at two cottage areas will now be able to join them.
All three communities and their around 2,000 combined residents were able to go home starting Saturday morning following evacuations due to forest fire, smoke and highway closure concerns. Buses from The Pas for people heading back to Cranberry Portage ran Saturday morning, with another bus running from Dauphin to Sherridon to bring others back to the region - the Highway 10 was full of people returning Saturday.
In a statement issued Saturday afternoon, the RM of Kelsey thanked emergency coordinator Lori Forbes for coordinating the evacuation effort locally, her second such effort in as many summers.
"Safe travels home to everyone returning to Cranberry Portage," reads the end of the RM's statement.
The northern fire cluster around Flin Flon and area has mostly stood pat Saturday. Only one new hotspot cluster was reported with the fire complex Saturday, between Hanson Lake and Amisk Lake. The flare-up was doused, said local officials.
No structures have burned in Creighton or Flin Flon as of Saturday night and neither community is believed to be in imminent danger from the fire. Infrared scans of the area will be performed throughout the weekend, already finding a handful of hotspots Friday that were put out soon after. A small, new fire was reported west of Cranberry Portage, but firefighters were able to get the new blaze under control.
Cabins return
Residents for Twin Lakes and Payuk Lake got the all-clear to head back late Friday night, effective Saturday at noon.
"Upon consultation with Manitoba Wildfire Service, the mandatory evacuation order for Little Athapap Cottage Association will be partially lifted for the Twin Lakes and Payuk Lake areas by the Northern Affairs branch of Municipal and Northern Relations," reads the announcement.
"Only residents of Twin Lakes and Payuk are allowed to return."
No other parts of the Little Athapap Cottage Association have yet received approval to head home as of Saturday night - the rest of the cabin areas covered by the association, along with other cabin areas near Schist Lake and Big Island Lake, are all still under mandatory evacuation orders.
Cabinowners are told that critical infrastructure around the area hasn't been affected, but debris from fighting the fires may be nearby, water may be in or near homes, food left behind when people evacuated may be spoiled and water lines will likely need to be flushed - all returnees are asked to run both their hot and cold taps for at least five minutes.
Manitoba Highway 10 will still be closed, with a roadblock, between the Sherridon turnoff and Flin Flon until further notice - Flin Flon and all nearby communities still are under mandatory evacuation orders.
Weather
Flin Flon and surrounding area are getting good firefighting weather this weekend - rain is coming down and is expected to fall for the rest of the weekend.
Showers and a risk of a thunderstorm are in Environment Canada forecasts for Saturday night, with more showers expected through Sunday. Forecasts currently call for a sunny and dry Monday, but a 60 per cent chance of more rain Tuesday. Overnight lows in the area are expected to drop as low as the single digits Celsius this week.
According to Natural Resources Canada mapping, Flin Flon and the nearby area has a "low" or "moderate" fire danger as of Saturday night.
Flin Flon
While other communities are coming back alive, Flin Flon and nearby areas are still under mandatory evacuation orders. Local leadership have said that Flin Flon is not ready to welcome people home, but may be soon.
One main resource that needs to be looked at during a Flin Flon reopening is health care - the community will not be considered safe to return to unless health services are available. City of Flin Flon officials confirmed they had begun speaking with representatives from the Northern Health Region to plan the next step.
"We have continued our conversation with the health region today about reinstating health services. As soon as we get a concrete answer, I will absolutely let the community know," said deputy mayor Alison Dallas-Funk in an update from the City late Friday.
"I know there's a lot of talk about coming home and I can't give you an exact time - but I can tell you that the critical asset businesses have been contacted and as early as tomorrow [Saturday], some of them are coming in to take a look at their business and identify what they need."
Meanwhile, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is also making plans to get people from Denare Beach's Amisk Lake reserve home. The evacuation order is still in effect for Denare Beach, but the band is moving ahead with its reopening plan, which will include working with local and provincial authorities.
This week's issue of The Reminder is both online-only and free - you can read it in its entirety here.
