People living in the cabin area of Sourdough Bay near Flin Flon have had to evacuate their homes due to a forest fire, the first major blaze of the season.
According to Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development, the fire, formally named the WE010 fire, has reached a size of about 20 hectares as of May 10 and is officially considered "out of control". Fire crews are responding to the blaze, which started near Sawmill Lake, near the northernmost tip of Lake Athapapuskow.
There are no cabins located on Sawmill Lake, but the Sourdough Bay cabin area, on the shore of Lake Athapapuskow, is less than three kilometres away from the fire. RCMP and conservation officers told people at their cabins to leave Friday evening. No property damage or injuries have been reported due to the fire.
The fire started Thursday by a lightning strike about 16 kilometres east-north-east of Flin Flon. The fire is believed to have grown past 20 hectares, but no updated size or affected area has yet been confirmed. The fire is also near a power line, located about 700 metres away from the site, according to mapping from Manitoba Natural Resources.
Wind patterns in the area are blowing toward the east, potentially putting the fire closer to both the power line and the cabin area. A smoke plume from the fire was visible from Flin Flon May 9 and 10.
There are, as of May 10, four fires burning in the western fire area according to Manitoba Natural Resources data, two of which - including the WE010 fire - require response. Provincial fire crews are monitoring the other two. Data shows that two firefighters and one helicopter have been sent to address the two fires, with no waterbombers, aircraft or heavy equipment being brought in yet.
According to imagery from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), hotspots have been reported in the past 24 hours in several areas around Lake Athapapuskow, Neso Lake, Mikanagan Lake and the other regions nearby - none aside from the WE010 fire have developed into a full-blown blaze according to Manitoba maps.
The City of Flin Flon, Town of Creighton and Northern Village of Denare Beach all announced municipal fire bans Friday evening, citing dry weather conditions. The bans will be in place until further notice.
Fire weather index mapping from Natural Resources Canada shows areas around Flin Flon at either a "moderate" or "high" fire danger as of May 10.
Smoke from the fire is expected to blow toward Snow Lake late Friday and into Saturday morning according to firesmoke.ca.
This story will be updated if the situation changes.
