Evacuation order lifted for Piney, fire contained

The fire in the RM of Piney is now contained and the evacuation order has been lifted as of Monday with residents returning home.

According to a news release from the RM, the nearly 9,000 hectare forest fire has been contained within its perimeter and more than 300 displaced persons are returning home.

“Everybody is happy to be back at home,” said Reeve Wayne Anderson Tuesday. “We thank (residents) for their patience in the evacuation and we’re glad that the town was saved.”

The townsites of Woodridge, Carrick, Badger, Florze, and St. Labre were all saved from the fire.

The command centre at the RM office in Vassar was closed Tuesday and Anderson said, “Everybody is resting, we’ve had a hard week.”

It was a hard week with the fire starting on May 10 after a spark generated from a train ignited some brush along railway tracks near Carrick. The fire resulted in the eventual evacuation of people from Florze, Badger, Carrick, Woodridge, and St Labre.

While forest fires are common in Piney, Anderson said this was the worst he has seen in 10 years. What might have helped in the firefighting effort is cool temperatures and 15 mm of rain that fell during the long weekend.

The evacuation centre in Piney recorded more than 140 people who were displaced, but that only accounts for those who registered. The actual number is thought to be more than 300.

One of the people displaced by the fire is Woodridge resident Barry Fontaine who was evacuated so quickly from his home that he forgot to take his hearing aid charger and toothbrush.

“He said, ‘You got to leave right now,’ so I did,” said the 81-year-old on Friday, who was in his living room when he got the notice to leave. “I just grabbed my bag that I had previously went out of town with, but I didn’t have my shaving gear, my toothpaste, and I left my charger and everything on the goddamn counter and I’m kind of stuck and I’m three-quarters deaf.”

Fontaine evacuated to his friend’s house in Grunthal rather than stay in the accommodations set up by the province in Steinbach, Winnipeg, Altona, and Morris. He was on his way on Friday to speak to the RCMP at the Woodridge roadblock to see if he could go back home and get some of his belongings.

St. Labre resident Therese Gerardy left before the evacuation order was given because she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and was concerned the smoke from the fires would aggravate her lungs making it hard to breathe. She shared her story on Friday while staying at Sleep Suites Motel in Steinbach.

“As it turns out (it was) a miracle,” she said. “My Uncle Johnny’s place (next door) burned down. My place didn’t. They got there just in time to save it.”

Gerardy found herself in a lucky position as her home, which sits on 30 acres of forest, ended up being the muster location for first responders who were fighting the blaze. She said she felt displaced and isolated by the fire and broke down crying on Wednesday when someone asked how she was.

“It kind of crept out on me and it just came out and then it was OK,” she said. “You need to say, ‘I need to put this into perspective and the house is still standing.’ If I want to subdivide no one will buy a charred five-acre lot. Of course, it’s brought down the value of my property if I decided to sell, but the house is still there.”

During a press conference last week, the province wouldn’t say whether there will be disaster financial assistance funding available to homeowners to recoup losses as the government is currently in reaction mode to the fires.

For Woodridge resident Marcel Clement, the fire has made him and his wife reconsider living in Piney.

“It’s making us think about it that’s for sure. We knew it’s always been an area there’s been many fires over the years, but never that close. This one was an eye opener that’s for sure.”

Clement lives on a two-acre parcel just outside of Woodridge in a 12-lot subdivision just east of the blaze. He also owns property in the Whiteshell which was also evacuated last week due to forest fires.

As of press time on Wednesday, the Manitoba Wildfire Service continues to respond to 13 active wildfires across the province.