A Canadian prairie city virtually deserted as fires rage and thousands more evacuees expected

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Canadian prairie city of Flin Flon was virtually deserted and more evacuees were expected, Manitoba's premier said Friday, as wildfires raged in the province.

Premier Wab Kinew told a news conference that the mayor, councilors, health-care staff and other officials have had to depart Flin Flon, a city of 5,000 people.

''The only folks remaining on the ground are firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP, who are there to battle the blaze,'' Kinew said.

''We do expect some very, very challenging conditions in Flin Flon and in the surrounding community.''

He added: ''Pray for rain.''

The evacuees are among 17,000 people reported so far to have left their homes due to a number of wildfires burning in remote regions from Manitoba's northwest to the southeast.

Kinew said as the fires grow, thousands more evacuees can be expected and that communities like Winnipeg, Thompson and The Pas have already stepped up to help provide food and shelter.

He said he spoke with some evacuees in Winnipeg.

''(It's) very scary, very tiring, long days for people who've been on the road and in the air to find their way to safety,'' he said.

Kinew said outside help has arrived, including 125 firefighters from the United States.

He said Canadian Armed Forces personnel are flying out evacuees from the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, north of Flin Flon.

Kinew said the airport near Mathias Colomb, also known as Pukatawagan, has not been damaged by the fire.

Earlier on Friday, Flin Flon Mayor George Fontaine said fierce winds were threatening to breach the city limits and begin burning structures in the city located nearly 400 miles (645 kilometers) northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg.

All residents, along with 1,000 more in the surrounding area, have had to leave. ''Unless we get one heck of a boost, (the fire) is projected to take chunks out of our town and surrounding areas,'' Fontaine said. ''It's looking very ugly right now.

''We're begging for air support (to help douse the fire). It's really crucial,'' he said.

Winnipeg has opened up public buildings for evacuees as it deals with hotels already crammed with other fire refugees, vacationers, business people and conventiongoers. The province declared a province-wide state of emergency this week to help various levels of government coordinate a response.

The fire menacing Flin Flon began Monday near Creighton, Saskatchewan, and quickly jumped the boundary into Manitoba. Crews have struggled to contain it. Water bombers have been intermittently grounded due to heavy smoke and a drone incursion.

The 1,200 or so residents of Creighton have also been ordered out, many of whom have gone to nearby Nipawin, Saskatchewan. In total, more than 8,000 people have fled wildfires in Saskatchewan.

Steve Roberts from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency told reporters Friday that winds have pushed wildfires significant distances.

Canada's wildfire season runs from May through September. Its worst-ever wildfire season was in 2023. It choked much of North America with dangerous smoke for months.