Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew surveys wildfires burning in northern Manitoba from a helicopter on May 14, 2024.David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is touring an area in the province’s northwest today that has been hit by a large wildfire.
Hundreds of people were told to leave Cranberry Portage on the weekend as winds drove the fire close to the community.
Provincial officials say the fire hasn’t changed much in the last two days — it is still measured at 316 square kilometres in size and is within 1,500 metres of Cranberry Portage.
A section of the main highway in the region, Highway 10, is open but motorists must go to a check stop and get a police escort to travel through.
The fire has crossed a section of railway in the area and has shut down rail travel between Cranberry Portage and Pukatawagan to the north.
Air tankers and helicopters have been working on the fire, and additional crews from Ontario are joining the effort.