Flin Flon is not currently at risk for evacuation due to forest fires in the region.
“Although fires have been burning for some weeks now uncomfortably close at hand, Flin Flon and Creighton are not in immediate danger of evacuation,” read a City of Flin Flon Facebook message posted late Wednesday morning.
A spokesman for Manitoba Sustainable Development’s wildfire program confirmed early Wednesday afternoon that “Flin Flon is not considered at risk for evacuation.”
Three major fires and a series of smaller blazes are burning within an 80-km radius of Flin Flon-Creighton.
The largest fire, which began near Granite Lake, had grown to 43,845 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon and had jumped highways 106 and 135 in northeastern Saskatchewan, according to Natural Resources Canada.
The fire, along with two others burning on the west shore of Jan Lake and north of Pelican Narrows, was still considered “not contained” by Saskatchewan Wildfire Management.
Three communities in northern Saskatchewan – Birch Portage, Pelican Narrows and Jan Lake – have issued general evacuation notices for their residents in recent days.
Residents at Tyrrell Lake, located 22 km outside Creighton, were also ordered to evacuate on Tuesday due to the ongoing closure of Highway 106.
The closest fire to Flin Flon, located about 17 km north of the city near Kisseynew Lake, was still considered under control Wednesday afternoon. The fire had not grown significantly in the past week.
Three smaller fires south of Flin Flon and Creighton, in the Konuto Lake and Phantom Lake areas, were extinguished late Tuesday.
Heavy smoke from the fires blanketed much of the Flin Flon-Creighton area on Monday and Tuesday, but a change in wind direction led to clearer skies Wednesday.
“There was a lot of smoke at ground level yesterday that was impeding visibility,” read the City of Flin Flon statement. “The fire has grown significantly but the wind changed overnight and is alleviating most of the smoke issues in and around Flin Flon with no immediate threat.”
