Return of Tataskweyak wildfire evacuees on hold for at least a week due to water treatment issues
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It could be at least another week before wildfire evacuees from a northern Manitoba First Nation are able to go home, leadership says.
After lifting its evacuation order Monday, Tataskweyak Cree Nation declared a state of emergency the next morning over concerns with its water treatment plant.
The First Nation's leadership held a Facebook live on Wednesday, telling community members not to return home until the issues have been resolved.
Chief Doreen Spence said the community's water was shut off after tests on discoloured water samples from June 4 came back nearly two weeks later, indicating high levels of aluminum in the water.
She said experts will do an assessment of the plant on Thursday, which she hoped would provide information on next steps and a timeline.
In the meantime, the water isn't safe for drinking, bathing or dish washing.
"Coming back, too, will be harder on you guys," Spence said.
"We don't really have essential staff here right now to deliver water. We're just working on that right now."
Spence acknowledged the longer wait would be challenging for evacuees, who were sent to Brandon, Thompson and Winnipeg, as well as Niagara Falls, Ont., when the community issued an evacuation order on May 30.
"I know it's really difficult for you guys to all be out there. I know everybody wants to come home," Spence said.
"The conditions right now are not ideal at this time, like we don't even have … all of our essential staff right now."
That includes health care services offered by nurses, along with garbage pick up, she said. A planned community-wide power outage is also scheduled over the next five days, beginning from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, in part to permit Manitoba Hydro to repair structures, Spence said.
The Crown corporation says multiple utility poles were damaged by the wildfire, which is nearly 22,000 hectares in size, as per the Manitoba government's Wednesday fire bulletin.
The province continues to list the fire as out of control, but the First Nation says it's mostly contained, apart from some smoke.
For people who have already come home, leadership said they have 400 air purifiers, some bottled water and 200 generators on hand.
In the meantime, Spence urged concerned or distressed evacuees to contact council members.
"Being away from your community and your family and friends has obviously taken a toll on your health mentally," she said.
Chief says more hotel rooms needed
As the community evacuation approaches the three-week mark, Spence said council continues to plead with the Canadian Red Cross to get hotel rooms for all evacuees.
Leadership estimated they needed 100 more rooms and said the Red Cross had committed to secure them this week.
"I know it's extremely frustrating for you guys to not have a hotel room, and we've been saying that over and over again," Spence said, adding that people who didn't have one should get in touch with the council if they hadn't already.
"You guys all deserve to be in hotel rooms already."
Spence said she had also inquired with Indigenous Services Canada to see if evacuees who've covered hotels and meals out of pocket will be reimbursed, and urged people to hold on to their receipts.
The First Nation is also pushing for evacuee benefits to be extended another two weeks, while it manages the water treatment issues, she said.
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