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A Mitchell man who owns and operates Wilderness Edge Retreat and Conference Centre in Pinawa, says urgent help is needed to care for evacuees who are coming to stay on site.

Kevin Penner says he spoke with the Red Cross Thursday morning, and learned evacuees were being sent to Ontario and beyond because of space issues in Manitoba.

The Manitoba government delivered a wildfire update today, June 5. 

The provincial state of emergency remains in effect, with 21 communities having declared local states of emergency and more than 18,000 evacuees now registered. There are likely many more evacuees who have not registered with the Canadian Red Cross. 

Though the City of Winkler has readied its Meridian Exhibition Centre to serve as a large-scale evacuation facility in the event that wildfire evacuees need a place to stay, the province’s focus has shifted slightly to getting evacuees inside of hotels, rather than large, shared spaces. 

A focus on dignity 

Wendy Klassen, assistant city manager for Winkler, confirmed the city's shelter remains in a holding pattern, fully prepared but currently unused. 

Manitobans are staying true to the slogan on our license plates, 'Friendly Manitoba', with people across the province stepping up as wildfires continue to burn out of control in northern Manitoba, leading to the evacuation of thousands of people.

This week, the Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop was able to help out by donating some much-needed items to evacuation centres in Winnipeg. 

With the threat of wildfire growing closer to Snow Lake, Manitoba, residents are being encouraged to prepare to evacuate.

A 48-hour evacuation alert was issued on Tuesday morning, with the evacuation being voluntary at this time.

Residents who choose to leave can take pull-behind equipment, such as trailers, boats and campers. However, if a 24-hour evacuation alert is issued, this will no longer be permitted.

The fires continue to rage across Manitoba, and evacuees continue to be moved from their homes to towns and cities across Manitoba and provincial boundaries.

For former Killarney pastor couple, Darryl and Cindy Hartwig, they're in a safe place but their hearts are heavy at the loss of the Adult and Teen Challenge Men's campus at Denare Beach, SK.  The Hartwigs have been living in Flin Flon over the past few years, with Darryl leading the team at the small community of Denare Beach, just 20 km southwest of Flin Flon as campus manager.

Sunrise Credit Union has donated $4,000 towards northern communities' evacuee support in the City of Brandon with a special initiative to help displaced families break up the monotony of hotel life and to better enjoy the Wheat City.

"When we first heard about the number of evacuees arriving in Brandon—initially around 300 and then growing significantly—we reached out to a local organization to see how we could help. One of the main concerns was making sure evacuees had things to do so they weren’t stuck in hotel rooms all day," shares Sunrise Marketing Manager, Heather Merckx.

Today, June 5th, is Manitoba Day of Caring for Wildfire Evacuees with broadcasters across the province joining together to support those displaced and evacuated due to the fires raging across parts of Manitoba.

Disbelief at the thought of evacuation

Guy and Jo Werry have lived in Flin Flon for 44 years. They are grateful to have arrived in the Pembina Valley after the mandatory evacuation order came out last Wednesday, giving all residents of Flin Flon an hour and a half to evacuate the Northern community. 

Guy said he sort of had his head buried in the sand regarding the wildfires that were heading towards his home community.  

Today, June 5th, is Manitoba Day of Caring for Wildfire Evacuees with broadcasters across the province joining together to support those displaced and evacuated due to the fires raging across parts of Manitoba.