Firefighters continue to battle a wildfire that forced the evacuation of residents from two northern Manitoba communities over the weekend. Residents from Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nation began arriving in Winnipeg Sunday after a nearby wildfire brought heavy smoke into the communities. So far only “Priority 1” residents, which include the elderly, babies and those with chronic respiratory problems, have had to leave the communities. Officials from the Canadian Red Cross said 122 residents from Little Grand Rapids had come to Winnipeg by Monday afternoon, and as many as 60 were expected to arrive from Pauingassi by the end of the day. Dave Schafer, director of the Manitoba Wildfire Program, says the fire, burning roughly 17 kilometres west of Little Grand Rapids, is the most troublesome one currently burning in the province.
Fire crews with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry continue to battle a number of forest fires in northwestern Ontario, with three new fires added to the list as of Monday evening. …Two new fires — Red Lake 43, located near Trough Lake, approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Red Lake and Red Lake 44, near Frances Lake, approximately 120 kilometres northwest of Red Lake — were also listed as not under control. Scott said Red Lake fire 23, located approximately 16 kilometres southwest of Keewaywin First Nation is now larger than 37,000 hectares and an incident team is on its way to set up infrastructure to protect values on the land. …The forest fire hazard was listed as high to extreme across the region.