Fire crews may have gotten the wild fire threatening the village of Badger under control, an official said Tuesday morning.
At least 20 people in the village were forced from their homes Sunday night as water bombers attacked the largest of three wildfires, which has burned close to 5,000 hectares in southeastern Manitoba. A state of emergency was also declared Sunday in the RM of Piney.
RM of Piney Reeve Duane Boutang said despite the promising news, the evacuation remains in effect for the community.
Conservation officials said the dry, windy conditions are not helping the situation. And the humidity is low.
"Whenever you have the temperature exceeding the relative humidity, you get fairly erratic fire behaviour to a point where the water bombers are having difficulty working on a fire," said Geoffrey Smith from Manitoba Conservation.
Five water bombers, four helicopters and dozens of firefighters and Conservation officials have been deployed since Saturday. No injuries or damages to property have been reported in the RM of Piney.
The cause of the fire isn't known, but it is burning in an area of the province that's seen devastating fires in recent years.
Backcountry travel restrictions, fire bans in effect
Provincial government officials said Monday a number of backcountry travel restrictions are now in place in eastern Manitoba.
All burning permits previously issued have been cancelled and new ones will not be issued at this time.
Officials also said backcountry travel will now only be allowed if people obtain permits.
Campfires are also only permitted from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in approved fire pits.
The province said the main fire causing concern is the one approximately 5,000 hectares in size, northeast of Carrick and southeast of Woodridge and Vita.
Crews are working to protect the community of Badger.
The province said restrictions include areas from the Manitoba-U.S. border in the south to the Bloodvein/Gammon River, including Bissett and Hollow Water in the north.
It also includes areas east of La Broquerie, Richer and Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation and along the eastern edge of Lake Winnipeg to the Ontario boundary, including Whiteshell, Nopiming, Moose Lake, Wanipigow, Wallace Lake, Manigotagan River and south Atikaki provincial parks and the Northwest Angle and Sandilands provincial forests.
More information is available online at: www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/fire/Prevention/prevention.html
- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele
