ManitobaOne of Manitoba’s highest honours, the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, has been bestowed upon the first responders who navigated one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent memory.’Recognition belongs not … to 1 person, but to a province that rose together’: assistant deputy ministerDarren Bernhardt · CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 4:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 9Manitoba Wildfire Service assistant deputy minister Kristin Hayward, left, and Manitoba Emergency Management Organization assistant deputy minister Christine Stevens are shown during a wildfire update earlier this year. On Thursday, they accepted the Order of the Buffalo Hunt on behalf of more than 100 organizations and departments who contributed to this summer’s firefighting efforts. (Government of Manitoba)One of Manitoba’s highest honours has been bestowed upon the first responders who navigated one of the province’s worst wildfire seasons in recent memory.”It’s a room full of heroes. I hope that you feel proud of the work that you did on behalf of the people of Manitoba,” Premier Wab Kinew told a gathered crowed inside the Manitoba Legislative Building on Thursday, as the first responders were named to the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.The fires started in May and, over the course of the spring and summer, affected wide swaths of northern and eastern Manitoba. Two people were killed and the province said last month costs associated with the fires were already roughly $180 million, with some invoices still to come. Kristin Hayward, an assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Wildfire Service, and Christine Stevens, an assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, were named to the order and accepted the honour for the more than 100 organizations and departments — many from abroad — who contributed to the efforts over the summer.”I stand here on behalf of the many hands and hearts that carried Manitoba through this wildfire season. This recognition belongs not to one group, to one person, but to a province that rose together,” Stevens said in an acceptance speech.She dedicated the recognition to Sue and Richard Nowell, who died in May after they were trapped by a wildfire at a family home in the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet.”Their memory reminds us of the profound stakes of this work, and the courage and humanity that guide us forward,” Stevens said.The honour was also dedicated to the thousands of Manitobans who lost their homes or were forced to leave them for so much of the summer, she said.A wildfire burns near Garden Hill Anisininew Nation in northeastern Manitoba in July 2025. (Submitted)More than two million hectares burned and two provincial states of emergency were implemented, along with 43 local states of emergency. There were 59 evacuation orders that forced nearly 33,000 Manitobans from their homes, “some for weeks and some for months,” Stevens noted.”Communities hundreds of kilometres apart faced danger all at the same time and yet, in every corner of the province, people leaned in, showed what it means to care for one another and showed up time and again.”Established in 1957, the Order of the Buffalo Hunt is accompanied by a certificate of membership, signed by the premier and sealed with the Great Seal of Manitoba.”We asked a lot of these folks,” Kinew said. “Today is a small way, as a province, that we can say thank you. So, thank you.”More than two million hectares burned during Manitoba’s wildfire season, with two provincial states of emergency implemented and 43 local states of emergency. There were 59 evacuation orders that forced nearly 33,000 Manitobans from their homes. (Government of Manitoba)He cited the firefighters, community leaders who remained behind after their towns were evacuated, and those who ran the “nerve centre” to direct the response.Thursday was the second time in three months Kinew has given out the honour.In late July, he conferred it upon the first responders who responded to a sword attack at Brandon’s Neelin High School in June of this year.Last year, he named the first responders from the June 2023 crash near Carberry, Man., that killed 17 people, to the order. 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.
Manitoba wildfire first responders inducted into Order of the Buffalo Hunt
