Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Monday hotels in Winnipeg are opening up to thousands of evacuees who have fled their homes due to raging wildfires.
More than 17,000 people have been displaced in the province since last week, including all 5,000 residents of Flin Flon. Emergency centres were set up as available hotel rooms in cities have been scarce.
Some residents from Pimicikamak Cree Nation, east of Flin Flon, were transported to a hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Speaking ahead of the premiers' conference in Saskatoon, Kinew said some 1,000 hotel rooms are being made available for evacuees in Winnipeg.
"Nobody wants to sleep on a cot for more than a day or two, even in an emergency," Kinew said.
"We're connecting folks who need those enhanced accessibility supports first and then broadening it out to everybody else who needs help too."
Higher courts in Manitoba and Saskatchewan were to meet this week in Winnipeg for a conference, but it was cancelled to make hotel spaces available for evacuees.
Cooler temperatures and possible rain are expected to aid firefighters in battling wildfires, including the blaze burning close to Flin Flon. Crews have said the fire has been contained to outside the community's perimeter highway.
City officials said Monday the area experienced strong winds overnight, but there have been no structure losses.
Derek Kemp, born and raised Flin Flon, said the evacuation last week was "immediate and hectic."
A longtime musician, Kemp rounded up his guitars, amplifiers and a hard drive with 20 years' worth of music he couldn't leave behind. He watched the fire grow in the days leading up to the evacuation.
"I just remember seeing a little bit of black smoke," he said. "And then the next day, when I woke up, it was just giant plumes of smoke."
Kemp, who is now staying with family in Brandon, Man., said he might take some odd jobs to make some money and stay busy.
On Sunday, he and about a hundred others from Flin Flon gathered at a Winnipeg park to spend time together.
"(We) were all kind of just hanging out there," Kemp said. "At one point, they sang a song together."
Manitoba reported 25 active wildfires Sunday, with eight listed as out of control.
Kinew said support that the province has received from other jurisdictions is appreciated, but noted Canada needs to scale up its firefighting capabilities.
"As a nation, we're going to have to contend with future fire seasons being more and more like this," he said. "We could use every water bomber we can get our hands on. We're going to need more water bombers in the future."
The Manitoba government has ordered new water bombers, but Kinew said it would be another five years before it can get them.
In Saskatchewan and Alberta, thousands more people have been affected by wildfires ignited by hot, dry weather.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said all of Canada has come together to help out the Prairie provinces.
"Many others around this table are consistently reaching out to the three of us to offer resources," he said at the premiers' meeting. "And for that, we're very grateful."
As of Monday, 18 fires were burning in Saskatchewan. Evacuation orders were issued for northern areas, including Pelican Narrows, East Trout Lake and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.
Moe has said there could be many more evacuation orders in the next week.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her province has seen nearly 5,000 people evacuated. There were 26 out-of-control fires in Alberta.
The province was experiencing shifting winds, so some fire crews sent elsewhere have been called home, Smith said.
"With so many communities facing evacuation ... we've got to be able to respond in a way that is going to be rapid."
Picture Courtesy: Manitoba government via AP
