'The community is in a panic': Pukatawagan calls for more help with airport still closed due to smoke
Pukatawagan Cree Nation's chief and council say residents are growing more anxious as the community's only airstrip remains closed because of wildfire smoke.
The northern Manitoba community's airport was still not useable as of Friday afternoon, Pukatawagan councillors said at a news conference with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
Pukatawagan Chief Gordie Bear told CBC News the airport closed around 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday, as winds pushed smoke from the nearby wildfire toward it and the community, preventing planes from landing.
Two days after Manitoba declared a provincewide state of emergency and Pukatawagan was ordered evacuated, more than 2,000 people still need to be transported out of the community, Coun. Kelly Linklater said at the news conference.
"We need more resources. We need to move them immediately," Linklater said."The community is in a panic."
Linklater said first responders have resorted to using helicopters to fly people out, but at the rate that's going, it's would take days to move everyone.
Coun. Connie Constant said between six and 13 people can fit on the helicopters, depending on the aircraft's size.
The fire, which was first reported Tuesday, according to the province's wildfire map, was 9,785 hectares in size and about a kilometre away from the community as of Thursday.
Trains to and from Pukatawagan were already not running because of the fire threat. Constant said the call for help from other levels of government went out "days ago, while we had an airstrip."
"Canada, don't wait until we start losing lives," she said. "We matter. Our people matter. So we're trying. If you look at the map, we're in a peninsula. We got nowhere to go."
Pukatawagan — also known as Mathias Colomb — is about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
Manitoba Hydro said Thursday evening the community was without power because of fire-related damage, adding that there were several burned poles in Pukatawagan, but the full extent of the damage is unknown.
Linklater said the community has been without power for three days, and the restoration could take at least a month.
Premier calls for calm
A Friday afternoon provincial fire bulletin said the federal government and the Canadian Armed Forces are working to support Pukatawagan, "but conditions are very smoky."
Before the Pukatawagan news conference, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the Canadian Armed Forces was using helicopters to do reconnaissance in the area as of Friday morning.
Aircraft have been taking residents to The Pas for medical attention if needed, Kinew said at a separate news conference. As a precaution, the town's hospital is under a code orange, meaning preparing for a mass casualty or disaster event, he said.
WATCH | More evacuations expected, premier says:
"I think the most important thing for Manitobans to understand is that we need to be calm," the premier said when asked to address criticisms by First Nations leadership that the province's wildfire response has been poorly communicated.
"With transportation, the Canadian Armed Forces is in the business of meticulous planning before they deploy aircraft or before they deploy their troops," Kinew said. "I understand how Manitobans might look at a given situation and have questions. But I'm here to reassure you and tell you that you have the best people leading the response."
Constant said the community needs more.
"I don't even like the words 'to be patient,'" she said. "We can't be patient. We need action. We need action now."
Multiple agencies are working to respond to the fire, the latest provincial fire bulletin said.
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@findhelp.ca.
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