A building at Lynn Lake Kiddie Camp on Burge Lake was destroyed July 24 by a forest fire close to Lynn Lake that prompted the evacuation of Marcel Colomb First Nation to Thompson.
Lynn Lake Fire Department Chief James Lindsay told CBC that the building at the camp was burned as several wildfires ignited on Wednesday afternoon. He said some of the First Nation’s residents fled to the town but that neither community was imminently threatened by the widlfires. Provincial Road 391, the only route into Lynn Lake from the south, was closed for a while as fires approached or crossed the highway, but was open again by 8 p.m.
Jason Small of the Canadian Red Cross said the organization was activated by Indigenous Services Canada around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday to begin evacuating Marcel Colomb First Nation residents to Thompson. He said 140 members had registered at the reception centre in Thompson as of the morning of July 25, though there may still have been some in their home community or in Lynn Lake.
“Some drove themselves, but we also supplied buses,” he said. “Many had left to Lynn Lake.”
The evacuated residents will stay in hotels in Thompson until it is safe to return home. The costs of the evacuation are covered under an agreement the Red Cross has with the federal government but Small says anyone who wants to provide general support to the Red Cross can do so best by volunteering. Information on how to volunteer can be found at www.redcross.ca.
Lindsay told the CBC he believed the fire in the area had been caused by lightning.
