Babies and people with respiratory conditions will start to be flown out of the remote Manitoba community of Little Grand Rapids First Nation on Saturday night due to smoke from nearby forest fires, the chief of the community said.
Babies and people with respiratory conditions will start to be flown out of the remote First Nation
CBC News ·
Babies and people with respiratory conditions will start to be flown out of the remote Manitoba community of Little Grand Rapids First Nation on Saturday night due to smoke from nearby forest fires, the chief of the community said.
A spokesperson for Canadian Red Cross said 152 evacuees are being flown to stay at hotels in Winnipeg.
The first aircraft into the fly-in community was due to arrive at 10 p.m. CT, Chief Raymond Keeper said. It has space to carry 20 people. Keeper said he didn’t know when a following flight might arrive.
Names of those being evacuated are being announced on the local radio station, he said.
The community, located about 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, is blanketed by smoke from nearby forest fires. It and many other southeast Manitoba communities were the subjects of a special Environment Canada air quality statement issued around noon CT Saturday.
“There’s fires all around us, no matter which way the wind is blowing,” said Keeper. “They’re not small fires, either.”
“I’m worried about the smoke, it’s really thick. I have to wear a mask,” he said.
The community, along with another nearby First Nation, was evacuated in May 2018 due to wildfires.
“This time, we’re not taking chances,” Keeper said.
An email statement from the Manitoba government says the Canadian Red Cross is “managing limited precautionary health-related evacuations” on behalf of the First Nation and Indigenous Services Canada, which is the federal department responsible for overseeing Indigenous and Northern Affairs.
With files from James Turner and Dana Hatherly
