FLIN FLON - The fire threatening Flin Flon, Creighton and nearby communities grew Friday, but for now, the communities are both still safe from flames.
Exact perimeters are not currently known, but Natural Resources Canada data now estimates the Club/WE024 fire has now burned over 48,000 hectares of forest. The fire has been held off at Flin Flon and Creighton for the moment, but it continues to spread elsewhere, with part of it spreading to the east to Big Island Lake and Bakers Narrows and part of it spreading west to the Hanson Lake Road past Creighton.
As of Saturday morning, no structures in Flin Flon or Creighton have been burned, according to updates from the City of Flin Flon, Town of Creighton and people in the area fighting the blazes.
"There are no structure fires in Flin Flon at this time," reads a statement from the City of Flin Flon made Saturday morning.
"There was no structural damage from the fires last night. The guys have done a fantastic job holding the line," reads an update issued by the Town of Creighton Saturday afternoon.
"Big thank you to our fire department, Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), Big Ice, our public works force, volunteers and our EMO staff here. They continue to work to keep the fires under control. Lots of smoke in the area. We are hoping for favourable winds and support from the province."
Friday's weather, including changes in wind direction, was expected to be a big test of firefighting efforts and resolve. Conditions remain bone dry around the area and the fire is still growing.
"We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community, particularly this afternoon," said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew in a press conference May 30.
"The situation there is very, very serious and we are doing everything that we can to preserve life, but also to preserve people's livelihoods and homes in the region."
Power to the area was cut off after a transformer caught fire Friday night. Residents from Flin Flon and area had been using security camera and video doorbell footage to determine the state of their homes and neighbourhoods - without electricity, this is no longer an option.
Smoke is high in the area, leading to water bombers once again being grounded. Water bombers have been grounded for parts of three of the last four days due to the heavy smoke. Helicopters were still dropping water in certain areas and a load of flame-retardant foam was dropped on the area near Creighton Friday night in an effort to both stop the blaze from advancing into town and to protect firefighters.
"Smoke visibility is extremely poor. Aircraft are not currently flying in the area," reads the City of Flin Flon's Saturday morning update.
The area is now almost deserted, with mostly firefighters and fire crews staying behind. The final call for evacuees to leave the community was Friday morning, with the last bus of people being sent out from Flin Flon.
"There is nothing left for non-emergency personnel to do but leave," reads an update from the City of Flin Flon shared Friday.
Hotspot data from Natural Resources Canada and NASA/FIRMS show extensive fire growth to the east of Flin Flon, toward Big Island Lake and Bakers Narrows, potentially putting cabin areas, Bakers Narrows Provincial Park and the Flin Flon Airport - a major staging area for the firefighting effort - at risk. The weather forecast isn't providing any help, with no rain in the forecast for at least the next week according to Environment Canada.
The fire has caused yet another round of evacuations. Cranberry Portage, which had issued a voluntary evacuation Friday, upgraded that to a mandatory evacuation early Saturday. The community is not currently under direct threat from fires - the Highway 10 closure and power outage affecting the area led to the call being made.
"Meetings with Manitoba Hydro have determined that the power may be out in the Cranberry Portage area for multiple days. It has been determined that because of this power outage, a mandatory evacuation for the community of Cranberry Portage will be instated as of 9 a.m. May 31," reads a statement issued Saturday morning from the RM of Kelsey.
A bus is slated to arrive at the Cranberry Portage Skating Rink at noon, leaving at 1 p.m. for anyone without access to a ride or vehicle. With the Highway 10 still closed, anyone leaving town will need to take Highway 39 toward Snow Lake and Thompson, then turn onto Highway 6 at Ponton.
People living in cabin areas like Sourdough Bay, Sally's Beach, Blondie's Bay and others in the area have also been ordered to leave. These areas, along with Cranberry Portage, are
Residents of Wanless and cabin areas at Rocky Lake are being asked to prepare to leave with a two-hour evacuation notice - the same fire that has forced the Highway 10 closure, the WE023 fire, has jumped the highway and is getting closer to the communities. These areas were already evacuated earlier this spring when fires near The Pas/OCN grew north and threatened to cut off road access in or out.
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation also issued an evacuation notice for Sturgeon Landing Saturday afternoon, both due to the fire threat and potential road closures. The one road into and out of town may soon be affected by the fire burning across Highway 10 - that blaze is located not far from the junction with Sturgeon Landing.
Help is on the way to the north - several American fire crews were coming up north Saturday to help fight the flames, along with other firefighters from other Canadian provinces. Air attack teams from Colombia have also arrived in Manitoba to help fight the flames.
Northern fires
Elsewhere in the north, fires continue to burn and spread near Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, Cross Lake/Pimicikamak and Sherridon. Pelican Narrows also remains under threat from a fire, burning north of the community and to the west around Pelican Lake.
Pukatawagan remains the scene of a dramatic evacuation attempt - with smoke too heavy for planes to land and the nearby fire so close to the local airport that explosions have been reported in the area, flights taking evacuees out of town have been few and far between. With no road out and the rail line leading to the community also affected by the fire, military helicopters have been brought in to take people away.
In the news conference May 30, Kinew said that C-130 Hercules planes from the Royal Canadian Air Force would be taking people from Cross Lake/Pimicikamak and Norway House Cree Nation - where many people who have had to leave Cross Lake have ended up - to shelter in Winnipeg. Kinew also said that aircraft with the Canadian Armed Forces would be transporting people out of Pukatawagan to Winnipeg, including people in need of medical treatment. A "code orange" alert - indicating a disaster or any other event requiring as many staff as possible - had been declared for St. Anthony's General Hospital in The Pas.
Firefighters working near Sherridon have installed value protection to keep the community intact and ground crews are still fighting the blaze.
Kinew said yet more evacuees are likely headed to Winnipeg, with more evacuation orders announced across the province.
"To our fellow Manitobans, I would say over the course of the day today, we can expect thousands of more people from the northern parts of our province to be moved out of their communities to find their way to safety in other parts of Manitoba, predominantly here in Winnipeg," he said, thanking communities that had opened their doors to help people in need - namely Thompson, Portage la Prairie, The Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Norway House, Nisichawaysihk Cree Nation/Nelson House and others.
"Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit a reception centre here in Winnipeg and I spoke to many folks who were evacuated from Flin Flon, as well as Creighton and Pukatawagan. I want to take a moment to commend the very compassionate and important work that civil servants, the Canadian Red Cross, folks from the health authorities here as well as from Shared Health are all delivering, as well as Salvation Army, to care for people during their time of need. These are very scary, very tiring, long days for people who've been on the road and in the air to find their way to safety and very, very long and very tiring days for the people who are delivering help."
In Saskatchewan, the Shoe fire is still burning through Narrow Hills Provincial Park and areas near it. The fire has burned over 300,000 hectares of land and counting as of Saturday morning and is still considered "not contained."
This story was last updated at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.
The staff of The Reminder has evacuated Flin Flon, but will keep writing updates as long as possible during the emergency. If you have questions or concerns you would like us to chase or add here about the fire, evacuations or anything else, please notify us at [email protected].
Anyone seeking to register with the Red Cross or to donate to their campaign can do so at https://www.redcross.ca/2025manitobawildfires or 1-800-863-6582.
