ManitobaMore evacuees are returning home Friday and the danger around northern Manitoba has started to subside in what is now the worst wildfire season in the province in three decades, but there’s still no word whether the three-month state of emergency will be lifted.’I just hope all the residents take the time to thank a firefighter’: Snow Lake Mayor Ron ScottDarren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Aug 22, 2025 1:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoA wildfire burns near the town of Snow Lake in northern Manitoba earlier this month. The blaze forced more than 1,000 residents to evacuate in July, but they began returning home on Friday. (Town of Snow Lake/Facebook)More evacuees are returning home Friday and the danger around northern Manitoba has started to subside in what is now the worst wildfire season in three decades in Manitoba.The province, however, isn’t saying yet if the three-month state of emergency will be lifted.Manitoba first declared a state of emergency on May 28 and then extended it earlier this month to Aug. 22. Asked Friday morning about the ban’s expiry date, a government spokesperson said any changes would be communicated broadly.The latest fire bulletin from the province, released Thursday, said the fire danger in the majority of the province is now considered low and the status of five significant fires has been downgraded from out of control.The Manitoba Wildfire Service continues to respond to 149 active fires across the province, with a total of 417 wildfires to date, well above the average of 338 fires for this time of year, the bulletin said.And as of 9:30 a.m. Friday, there were still 7,050 people out of their home communities due to wildfires, a provincial spokesperson said.But others are going home right now.About 1,000 evacuees from Snow Lake will return to their community, about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, on Friday. Mayor Ron Scott said the air is clear and it’s “wonderful” to be back.”There’s no fire impinging on the town right now. And of course, it’s been absolutely wonderful to see all this rain that we’ve had in the last few days,” he told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.”We had a major thunderstorm go through the other night, and fortunately, none of the lightning strikes started another fire. Certainly all this rain is going to help out immensely.”A rainfall warning issued Thursday by Environment Canada remains in place for a band of northern Manitoba hit hard by the fires this year.The warning area includes Leaf Rapids, Lynn Lake, Gillam, Pukatawagan, Split Lake, Thompson, Shamattawa and Nelson House. Snow Lake was included in Thursday’s warning, but Environment Canada is still forecasting rain for the town on Friday and a chance on Saturday morning.Snow Lake has had two evacuations this summer. The first was in early June as a major blaze that threatened Flin Flon, Sherridon and Pukatawagan pushed toward the town. It was brief, though, as favourable weather changed things for the better. “And then we got hit with a number of lightning strikes that started [a new fire] just to the north of Reed Lake, and that fire quickly ramped up to the north and then came at us,” Scott said. “[That fire] almost completely surrounded us. Only the south was still open.”That forced the second evacuation in early July, which is now just ending. The mandatory evacuation order was lifted at 8 a.m.”It’s been extremely trying for everybody,” Scott said.A welcome centre has been set up inside the town’s community hall, with representatives from Manitoba Health to help people with both physical and mental health needs, he said.”And we’ve also opened up a food bank based on some very generous donations from one of our businesses in town,” he said.”That will help residents out who aren’t able to bring groceries back with them or may be extremely financially strapped right now. That will help get them started.”Representatives from Red Cross will be on hand to help returnees, as well as Service Canada to deal with any employment insurance issues people might have.”And all of our essential services are open as of today — post office, bank, pharmacy,” Scott said. “The grocery store will be getting a large order in today, so we should have everything up and running and available for people certainly this afternoon.”Despite the return to normal, there are still hot spots burning.”It’ll still be another couple of weeks by the time they can say that this fire is fully dead,” Scott said.”Even with the rain we’ve had, [Manitoba Wildfire Service] said a lot of the fire has just gone into the what they call the duff, the organic matter, and just sits there and smolders. So they want to hit all of it and make sure it’s just done.”While the crews remain around the community, Scott has one wish.”I just hope all the residents take the time to thank a firefighter, because they’re the ones … that stopped the fire right on the edge of town, and that people appreciate the fact that they do have a home and a business to come back to.”Other changes Friday include the reopening of Wekusko Fall Provincial Park to seasonal campers. Nightly campsites will remain closed for the season, though. And the Manitoba Wildfire Service has resumed issuing burning permits.ABOUT THE AUTHORDarren Bernhardt has been with CBC Manitoba since 2009 and specializes in offbeat and local history stories. He is the author of two bestselling books: The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent, and Prairie Oddities: Punkinhead, Peculiar Gravity and More Lesser Known Histories.
Wildfire risk downgraded in Manitoba as rain, residents return to northern communities
