The fire situation surrounding Pukatawagan has taken a positive turn. The fire that threatened the community last month is now under control and small steps are being made to bring people back home.
The WE026 fire, as it has been called by the Manitoba Wildfire Service, has been considered “under control” since August 11, according to the group’s records. The fire has not grown in size since July 20 and was moved from being considered “out of control” to “being held” on August 4.
According to the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), no new hotspots have been reported with the fire in over three weeks. In total, about 52,760 hectares of land were affected by the fire, with no word on injuries or property damage as a result of the blaze.
People evacuated from the community as a result of the fire last month are still not yet able to return home. Most people who have been evacuated from Pukatawagan have been located in temporary accommodations, usually in hotels in Thompson, The Pas and Winnipeg, for over a month.
However, there are signs that community members will be able to come back soon.
Workers and volunteers have entered the community to clean up the effects of smoke and other damage as a result of the fire and evacuation. Generators have been brought in by Manitoba Hydro to help power the community and they have been installed while workers seek to repair wires and poles damaged by the flames. No firm timeline has yet been announced by band leadership for when people may return home.
Meanwhile, donations raised through a campaign organized by the City of Flin Flon were picked up and delivered to evacuees last week.
Other fires
Elsewhere in the north, a forest fire located about 35 kilometres north of Flin Flon appears to have been staved off.
The fire, known in Saskatchewan records as the Richard fire and in Manitoba ones as the WE050 fire, is now considered to be contained by both the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) and the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS).
According to FIRMS, few hotspots have been reported with the fire in the past week, with those spots being reported in remote areas of the fire on the Saskatchewan side. No new hotspots have been reported at all since August 10.
The fire started as two separate fires in mid-July, both started by lightning strikes, before burning into each other and forming one larger fire. Several lakes, including Mari Lake, formed a natural firebreak between the blazes and Flin Flon. At its peak, the combined fires affected about 10,000 hectares in area.
Only one fire remains active within a 150-kilometre radius of Flin Flon, that being the Labbee fire on the Saskatchewan side of the border north of Sandy Bay. That fire is currently at 5,443 hectares in size as of press time and is considered to be “out of control” according to the CWFIS and as “protecting values” by the SPSA.
Another fire, the WE019 fire, is burning near Highrock Lake about 50 kilometres east-south-east of Pukatawagan. That blaze is currently considered by the Manitoba Wildfire Service to be 24,000 hectares in size and is being monitored by the service, but is not considered to be either fully under control or out of control. Hotspots have been reported in the fire’s northeast corner, burning away from Pukatawagan and up the eastern shore of Highrock Lake.
