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. Thursday.
The staff of The Reminder has 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].
One day after widespread evacuation efforts for Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and other northern communities began, efforts continue to both fight the fires and support people now away from home.
Residents have scattered around Manitoba and Saskatchewan. While the provincial evacuation has called for people to come to Winnipeg, many are staying in Snow Lake, The Pas, Swan River, Thompson or other nearby Manitoba communities. Yet others headed into Saskatchewan and are staying in Prince Albert, Nipawin or Saskatoon.
It is the first time in modern memory the Flin Flon area has had to be evacuated. Evacuations have taken place in recent years for nearby communities, including Cranberry Portage in 2024, Deschambault Lake in 2023 and Pelican Narrows in both 2017 and 2023.
"We hope everyone is safe and sound where they are and we feel for our community, 100 per cent," said city councillor Alison Dallas-Funk.
"Number one thing, the fire has not crossed the perimeter. We know that a lot of people within our community that have left are speaking about the fire crossing the perimeter - no assets are burning within our community and municipality boundary at this time, so we're pretty grateful for that."
Leaders also confirmed that the fire has not yet crossed the perimeter highway to the community's north and no buildings in town have been burned in the fire, but heavy smoke has limited how the fire can be attacked from the air.
"The fire is holding from last night," said the City update.
"There are 75-125 firefighters on the ground right now, from OCN, The Pas, Cranberry Portage, Swan River, Denare Beach, Creighton and Flin Flon. The smoke has meant air support has not been available since last night."
The Town of Creighton also issued an update May 29, saying the fire has so far not burned anything within the communities.
"No fires have breached the community and no loss of assets has been reported," reads the Creighton update.
"Winds are low today with heavy smoke. Fire crews continue to hold the line."
Community updates
So far, Manitoba cabin areas and communities around Flin Flon are not under an evacuation order, including Sourdough Bay, Twin Lakes, Payuk Lake, Paradise Lodge and Paradise Road, Sally's Beach, Boathouse Bay and Beaverbank Road. That may change as the fire wears on. Evacuation alerts have been issued for any residents or cabin owners in Bakers Narrows Provincial Park, but a full order has not been announced.
The campground at Bakers Narrows Provincial Park was ordered closed Thursday due to the fire - campers had to leave the area by Thursday afternoon.
In a statement issued May 29 by the City of Flin Flon, local leadership thanked locals for evacuating in a calm and orderly fashion - no injuries or incidents were reported during the exodus out of town. About 400 people were taken away from the area on buses to The Pas en route to Winnipeg, with potentially more coming Thursday. Anyone still left in town is asked to come to the Community Hall immediately to leave the community - "This is a mandatory evacuation," reads the update.
People from Creighton, Denare Beach and Flin Flon are asked to register with the Red Cross and with their local leadership, with the City of Flin Flon saying each community would explictly provide updates for their own residents, not necessarily for people in any of the three locales.
According to Natural Resources Canada mapping, the Club/WE024 fire has reached an estimated size of 25,370 hectares as of May 29. Manitoba Wildfire Services has a different estimate, showing a fire size of almost 38,000 hectares with no confirmed perimeter of the area that has burned. Both still consider the fire to be "out of control".
Most reported hotspots with the fire are in the far northeast region, where it is approaching territory already burned by the WE017 fire near Sherridon. A cluster of hotspots has been reported near Flin Flon, but the fire, as of Thursday morning, has not advanced into Flin Flon or nearby communities.
The City of Flin Flon has also shut down the Flin Flon Community Hall as of Thursday night. The hall was being used as an ad-hoc base for evacuation efforts uptown. Flin Flon City Hall will remain open from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. for anyone seeking assistance.
Manitoba response
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew issued a province-wide state of emergency as a result of the fires, along with announcing that local leadership in Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Cross Lake/Pimicikamak Cree Nation also called local evacuation orders due to fires. Between the three communities, around 17,000 people were forced for their homes in one day - the largest evacuation in Manitoba's modern history.
In a press conference shortly after people began evacuating Flin Flon May 28, Kinew said that the state of emergency was being called to allow for further assistance to battle northern fires, including the Club/WE024 fire near Flin Flon.
"This is a significant step we are taking to uphold our obligation to keep people safe," said Kinew.
"This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people's living memory. For that reason, our government has triggered a province-wide state of emergency to allow us to respond to this crisis. It will provide provincial officials the ability to safety transport evacuees and to provide shelter for them. As we speak, officials are coordinating with local leaders and law enforcement to support evacuees. We're working alongside the City of Winnipeg and others who have facilities to prepare to welcome our fellow Manitobans."
In Winnipeg, a shelter has been set up by Manitoba Emergency Social Services and the Canadian Red Cross at the Billy Mosienko Arena, located near Richardson International Airport on Keewatin Street - anyone without a place to stay is asked to get to the arena. All evacuees are also encouraged to register with the Red Cross at http://www.redcross.ca/2025manitobawildfires or by phone at 1-800-863-6582.
Kinew also said he'd spoken with Prime Minister Mark Carney requesting help - Carney announced in a statement Wednesday night that the federal government would supply any assistance needed to help fight the fires.
"I’ve spoken with Premier Wab Kinew and offered Canada’s full support as his province battles wildfires around Flin Flon. The premier and I are in close contact and the federal government stands ready to assist Manitoba’s provincial wildfire teams," said Carney's statement. The Canadian Armed Forces are also assisting in both the evacuations and firefighting efforts.
Kinew said the relief effort for the three recently evacuated communities - as well as others like Lynn Lake and Sherridon which already had evacuation orders - would be focused around Winnipeg. Resources for evacuees would be available in Winnipeg as a hub city, but not likely for other locations.
"I want to speak specifically to people in the wildfire zone. If you are in Flin Flon, please go to Winnipeg. If you are in Pimicikamak or Pukatawagan, listen to direction from local leadership," he said.
"This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern, but I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period the way we always do - by working together."
Saskatchewan response
A day after Manitoba called a state of emergency, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe did the same Thursday, opening the door to accepting assistance from the federal government. In a press conference in Prince Albert May 29, Moe said that the declaration allowed Saskatchewan more tools to fight the blazes.
"This is a very serious situation we're faced with in Saskatchewan. We do need some rainfall and we need that sooner rather than later," he said.
"In light of that not being in the forecast, we most certainly are putting place every measure possible to prepare our province, prepare our communities and those who live in our northern communities that are threatened by these fires in the days ahead."
SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said the declaration would be in effect for at least 14 days and could be extended if the situation calls for it. Pritchard also said the agency and province would be giving daily updates on the fire situation for as long as needed. Much like Manitoba, Saskatchewan is seeing a much higher rate of fires than the five-year average so far this year - the weather, Pritchard said, is not helping.
"We are currently experiencing high daytime temperatures and warm evening temperatures, which is not assisting with the wildfire suppression activities and efforts. It also is happening that the wildfires are not slowing down like we're used to at night," said Pritchard.
"We're also, over the next couple days, anticipating high temperatures and winds, which is again going to fuel the situation and and cause some extreme fire behaviour on the landscape."
Moe's press conference came more than three weeks after the start of the Shoe and Camp fires, which have since combined into one massive blaze in northern Saskatchewan. The fire, now over 300,000 hectares in size, has already caused several evacuations among cottage communities, destroyed cabins and campgrounds, caused Narrow Hills Provincial Park to be shut down for the season and shut down most of Saskatchewan Highway 106 (the Hanson Lake Road), one of northern residents' best ways out of the community. Moe's comments were his first on the fires - the highway has been closed intermittently for almost two weeks.
In Saskatchewan, fires near Flin Flon and nearby communities continue to burn. Along with the Shoe fire is the Wolf fire, which started near the west shore of Amisk Lake last week. That blaze, according to the SPSA, has grown to over 29,000 hectares and has jumped the Hanson Lake Road to the north. It also forced the evacuation of Foran Mining's McIlvenna Bay project, a potentially multi-billion dollar future mine site, to the fire's west - according to SPSA mapping, the fire's perimeter is less than four kilometres away from the mine. Pritchard said asset protection, such as sprinklers, have been set up at the mine site.
The Pelican fire, located north of Pelican Narrows, is still listed as "not contained" and has burned about 2,000 hectares of forest according to the SPSA. The fire is within a kilometre of the community of Pelican Narrows at its closest point. The community is now fully evacuated, with Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation getting residents out of the area through late last week and earlier this week.
Hudbay
Meanwhile, Hudbay will keep its Lalor mine operations near Snow Lake going, despite many of the company's workers having left.
The company issued a statement May 29 that said it expected "temporary reduced production levels in Snow Lake" due to the wildfire. Many of the mine's employees still live in Flin Flon and evacuated from the region Wednesday - still others are part of the company's mine rescue team, which has had several members head to Flin Flon to help fight the fires. All remaining workers in Flin Flon must be authorized to stay by emergency services.
"Only essential Hudbay personnel, authorized by emergency services, will remain in Flin Flon to assist with emergency activities," reads a statement issued by the company May 29.
The company also announced it would find places to stay for evacuated workers and their families in Snow Lake, deploy trained personnel to fight the fires, maintain communication with the City of Flin Flon and other groups and provide "facility infrastructure information to assist with planning and response."
“The safety of our employees, their families and the communities we serve is our top priority,” said Hudbay Manitoba business unit vice-president Rob Carter in the company-issued statement.
“We are collaborating closely with the City of Flin Flon, local communities and provincial authorities to provide support during this challenging time. We will continue to monitor the situation, ensuring a safe return to full operations as soon as it is advisable.”
