Fires and firefighters

Canada: Manitoba Wildfires Kill 2, Displace 1K

Published MAY 15 2025

Story

Above: Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba, seen during the official Canadian ceremony at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, in Bretteville-sur-Laize, France, on June 07, 2024 Image credit: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Facts

Two people have lost their lives in a wildfire near Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, marking the first civilian casualties in this year's Canadian wildfire season. Emergency personnel were unable to reach them due to extreme conditions until Wednesday morning, when their bodies were discovered.
The Globe and Mail
Guardian
National Post
The Lac du Bonnet wildfire has forced around 1,000 residents to evacuate their homes, with the blaze growing to 4,000 hectares (about 9,800 acres) while remaining out of control, prompting authorities to issue multiple evacuation orders across several subdivisions and cottage areas.
CTVNews
CBC
National Post
Manitoba is currently battling 24 active fires, with five considered out of control, including the Bird River fire spanning 100,000 hectares near Nopiming Provincial Park and a 20,000-hectare blaze near the Ontario border.
CTVNews
The Globe and Mail
The province has implemented emergency measures, including the closure of Whiteshell Provincial Park, the shutdown of Manitoba Hydro's Slave Falls and Pointe du Bois generating stations, and the evacuation of roughly 1,200 people from Ontario seeking refuge in Manitoba.
CTVNews
National Post
Unusually hot, dry, and windy conditions have made firefighting challenging, with temperatures reaching 33°C (91.4°F), leading officials to warn that fire seasons are starting earlier than typical and becoming more intense. The fires have also hit the northern U.S. state of Minnesota.
The Globe and Mail
CBC
Caliber.az
Additional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, including a specialized 12-member search and rescue unit, have been deployed, with the province requesting 80 more firefighters through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
CTVNews
CBC

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Canada's wildfires are a lethal climate crisis. The latest surge, which follows 2023's record 37 million acres burned, shows rising temperatures and dry fuels making forests dangerously fire-prone. Despite northern Canada's boreal forests and carbon sinks absorbing CO2, these longer, more extreme fire seasons persist, requiring global climate-smart strategies to protect ecosystems and communities.

UNECE

The Hill

Climate-skeptic narrative

Recent wildfires, though intense, aren't driven solely by climate change. Historical data shows wildfires have decreased since the 1930s, yet selective data from recent decades fuels climate alarmism. The 2023 surge aligns with natural fire cycles, worsened by poor land management and dry winds, not just long-term climate shifts, while fuel buildup from fire suppression intensifies blazes. Practical forest management, not manipulated climate narratives, is the solution.

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