Wildfires force evacuations of Garden Hill, Snow Lake in northern Manitoba

The wildfire threat is worsening in northern Manitoba, prompting alerts and evacuations for at least two more communities.

Garden Hill First Nation, a fly-in community with a population of more than 3,000, is being threatened by fire.

Read more:

Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister for emergency management, posted on social media Thursday morning that Ottawa has approved Manitoba’s request for armed forces support and evacuations in the Garden Hill area are underway.

The Town of Snow Lake also issued a mandatory evacuation order and has told its 1,000 residents to stay with friends or family or at a shelter 600 kilometres south in Winnipeg.

Mayor Ron Scott said the situation is frustrating, as this is the second time this year the town has had to evacuate.

“We anticipated that this was going to be a very long, painful summer with the very dry conditions, windy conditions,” Scott said from Snow Lake.

“There’s fires all over the place.”

A major fire is within 16 kilometres of the town and wind is blowing it toward the community, he said. The highway south is open and people have been leaving in an orderly fashion, he added.

The Red Cross and the Manitoba government have been operating a reception centre for evacuees at a large indoor soccer complex in Winnipeg.

“Know that if shelter is needed, you will be staying at the soccer complex on cots, as there are no available hotel rooms in Winnipeg,” said a Town of Snow Lake notice posted online.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.