Cranberry Portage evacuees return home to limited food access, medical care as Flin Flon remains empty
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Residents from Cranberry Portage began returning to the northern Manitoba community on Saturday morning, two weeks after a wildfire knocked out its power and forced locals to evacuate to Winnipeg and The Pas.
But some Cranberry Portage residents say they'll be returning limited access to essential supplies or medical care as the nearby city of Flin Flon remains under a mandatory evacuation order.
On Friday, the Manitoba government announced that mandatory evacuation orders were being lifted for Cranberry Portage, Sherridon, Herb Lake Landing and Snow Lake.
About 1,785 evacuees — about 440 of them from Cranberry Portage — could go home at 8 a.m. on Saturday, the province said.
Evacuee Peter Thibodeau said he was among the first people to return to Cranberry Portage Saturday morning, but some others are staying where they are — many in Winnipeg or The Pas — until Flin Flon reopens.
"A lot of people aren't coming back until they have to go grocery shopping. There's no grocery store here and Flin Flon is still closed," he said.
Flin Flon is located about 35 kilometres northwest of Cranberry Portage, and is home to the closest grocery store and hospital to the community. Locals drive about 20 minutes north on Highway 10 to get their essentials in the city.
Returning Cranberry Portage evacuees will now have to drive an hour south to The Pas to access grocery stores, medical care and other essentials until it's safe to return to Flin Flon.
"They're just going to have to drive a little further for those services that they require," said Lori Forbes, emergency co-ordinator for the rural municipality of Kelsey.
"Flin Flon will be open eventually, sooner than later I'm assuming, but I'm going to leave that up to them to make those decisions," she said.
Irvin Head, who fled Cranberry Portage with his family on May 30, said he was surprised to hear residents could return to their homes Saturday.
He's been in Winnipeg for the last two weeks and plans to stay longer.
"We were sort of hunkering down for maybe a month's worth of waiting around," Head said.
He said he's concerned that Cranberry Portage residents can return home while Flin Flon is still under an evacuation order. He said the community relies on services in the city, especially the hospital and grocery store, which both remain closed.
"That's a big lifeline," Head said. "Even if we do go back … it'll still be a little bit of a 'what do we do?'"
Returning residents happy to be home but prepared to leave
Forbes said all of the structures in Cranberry Portage are intact, power has been restored and municipal services are running again.
She said the local dump is also open, which will likely be in heavy use as some residents return to spoiled food in their refrigerators.
"I think everyone is very fortunate up in Cranberry Portage. There [was] no structural damage. So they're going home to a community that's ready to receive them, get their lawns mowed, get some gardens put in, and carry on with everyday life," Forbes said.
"I'm really glad to be able to tell these residents that they can head home today," Forbes told CBC News on Saturday.
Thibodeau said "it's not really sunk in yet" that he's home.
He said dandelions have sprouted up across everyone's lawns since they've been gone, so he plans to mow his lawn and catch up on errands before returning to work.
Thibodeau was among the Cranberry Portage residents who were forced out by a fast-moving wildfire a year ago, so he said he's staying packed in case fire forces him out again soon.
"I'm going to do some laundry and keep the bag ready," he said.
While some residents are happy to be home, Head said his family has decided to stay in Winnipeg for now.
He said the decision to leave the Cranberry Portage in the first place was ultimately about not having enough basic services for people and not a direct fire risk.
"I would rather go home, especially after how much work it took to get some sort of support here [in Winnipeg]," he said.
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