Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 12, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I PROVINCE Massive blaze forced more than 900 residents of two communities to flee Probe into Lynn Lake fire centres on controlled burn nearby mine: mayor A NORTHERN Manitoba mining town is seeking answers as to what caused the massive wildfire that forced more than 900 residents of two communities to flee their homes in May. The Town of Lynn Lake was informed — amid an active investigation by the province — that the blaze stemmed from a controlled burn at the nearby Alamos Gold Inc. mine, Mayor Brandon Dulewich said. “At the beginning of the season, everybody was ecstatic about the new gold mine and the life it was bringing to Lynn Lake, but after seeing the de- struction this summer — and I’m not overly aware of the specifics around the fire, or what could or could not have been done — I know people want some concrete answers,” he said. “I would like to see some ownership for the situation. I don’t know how you fix what happened, but I think definite- ly something needs to happen.” The fire was detected May 7 and was caused by human activity, as per the Manitoba Wildfire Service. A provin- cial spokesperson said the investigation into the fire is ongoing. Some derelict buildings in Lynn Lake and almost 30 cabins in Burge Lake Provincial Park were destroyed, Dule- wich said. The blaze, classified as under control since Aug. 20, was still listed as active Thursday, after burning more than 85,000 hectares. Lynn Lake is about 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Manitoba Conservation investigators allege the wildfire started after a burn pile reignited at Alamos Gold’s MacLel- lan mine site, about seven kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake, CBC News re- ported, citing a June 11 search warrant affidavit that it recently obtained. CBC News said the affidavit alleges the company, which obtained a burn permit and contracted the work, was negligent in ensuring burn piles were properly extinguished. In a statement, Alamos Gold said it is a responsible operator, and it “takes issue with the allegations” in the CBC News report. The statement did not cite specific al- legations that are disputed. An Alamos spokesperson said the company was not served with a search warrant. The investigator’s affidavit sought access to information, by way of a production order for documents, from two contractors who work at the mine. “The fire was deeply unfortunate, part of a tragic wildfire summer in Manitoba,” the statement said. “We are thankful for the tremendous efforts of Manitoba Wildfire Services when they arrived on site and took the lead of fire suppression on May 8. “We welcome an investigation, and we will co-operate fully. Everybody has a role to play in fighting this wildfire phenomenon.” Alamos Gold is conducting an inter- nal investigation. The Toronto-based company said it has “deep sympathy” for Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb First Nation residents. “Alamos puts the safety of the local communities and our employees at the forefront,” the statement said. Dulewich said town officials have not yet had an in-depth conversation with Alamos Gold because they’ve been busy with firefighting and recovery ef- forts. “In the near future, I think we’re go- ing to sit down and, hopefully, come up with something both parties can agree to and be happy with,” said Dulewich, who is also a municipal firefighter. Alamos Gold said efforts to support and be a “trusted partner” of the com- munities will continue. Premier Wab Kinew, who attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the mine in March, said he would refrain from making “too many comments” because an investigation was underway. “My heart goes out to community members and Mayor Dulewich, navi- gating through this tough period, fight- ing the fires directly. Hats off to local leaders like him,” Kinew said at an un- related event. “I am glad the fire inves- tigators are looking very, very closely at this, and that that’s moving forward.” Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb residents were forced out of their homes May 27 and 28, respectively, as the fire spread. Firefighters worked around the clock to save Lynn Lake, when the blaze spread into the town about a week later. Evacuation orders ended June 20 af- ter the threat eased, but Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb residents were forced out again July 4, when a different fire (caused by a lightning strike) threat- ened the power supply. “This is kind of unprecedented. I’m hoping Lynn Lake never sees an evacu- ation this long or power loss this long ever again,” Dulewich said. Manitoba Hydro restored power Thursday. It will still be some time be- fore essential services resume and the town is ready to welcome evacuees. Dulewich said an earlier estimate from the Manitoba Wildfire Service put Lynn Lake-area firefighting costs at $10 million. “Any direction you drive outside of Lynn Lake, you see nothing but burnt trees,” he said. “Our entire municipal boundary is a scar of what it used to be. It’s definitely hard to see, and the feel- ings around it aren’t that great.” Manitoba Hydro said power was re- stored two to four weeks sooner than expected in Lynn Lake, Marcel Colomb, Leaf Rapids, Mathias Colomb Cree Na- tion (Pukatawagan) and O-Pipon-Na-Pi- win Cree Nation/South Indian Lake. The cost of the restorations is esti- mated to be $32 million. — with files from Carol Sanders chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca CHRIS KITCHING TYLER HUNT PHOTO A wildfire burns an abandoned building on the edge of Lynn Lake in June. Charges and warnings A Manitoba government spokesperson said the following wildfire-related charges or warnings have been issued since May 1: ● Wildfires Act: 84 charges, 41 warnings ● Provincial Parks Act: 18 charges, seven warnings ● Parks Activities Regulation: 71 charges, 18 warnings ● Six investigations, including one involving a Lynn Lake-area fire that was detected May 7, are ongoing, the spokes- person said. ● The Wildfires Act says breaches can lead to a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to two years in jail for a person, and a fine of up to $1 million for a corporation. Outage spoils dozens of litres of parlour’s ice cream THE owner of an ice cream shop was licking her wounds Thursday after dozens of litres of icy treats melted away, caus- ing profits to go down the drain. Patty Mikos, the longtime co- owner of Dairy Delight on St. Anne’s Road, arrived at work to find 10 tubs of 11.4 litres of hard ice cream melting inside a freezer that had been off for hours because of a hydro out- age. The ice cream was tossed into a garbage bin with other perish- able food products, including hamburger. “We had to throw out all the meat — about 50 pounds today,” Mikos said. “You don’t want to risk it when it comes to meat.” It’s the third time this year she’s been forced to throw out ice cream and meat at her store, which she owns with her broth- er, at 467 St. Anne’s Rd. “I’m getting used to it. Be- fore this year, there had been only one outage in 26 years, and (Manitoba) Hydro compensated me then. They don’t do that any- more. “But it’s not just Dairy De- light — it’s the entire street.” Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy said the outage was caused by a pickup truck colliding with a hydro pole on the 300 block of St. Anne’s on Wednesday at about 11:30 p.m. “The vehicle was rendered inoperable and hydro lines were affected. Both directions of traffic were closed to traffic,” Chancy said. Police said the driver of the vehicle fled and the investiga- tion is ongoing. He said auxiliary cadets were on the scene until repairs were made Thursday afternoon. Hydro spokesman Peter Chu- ra said the outage left about 1,900 customers in the dark for about 15 hours in the Lavallee, St. George and Southdale areas. “That pole is the connection point for several circuits serv- ing a wide area,” Chura said. “So it was a complex repair that required time to assess, assemble the necessary crew and equipment, and perform the work safely.” Chura said power was re- stored at about 2:48 p.m. “In a power outage such as that, with damage caused be- yond our control, we can’t un- fortunately compensate custom- ers for spoiled food,” he said. “Thank you to all who were af- fected for their patience.” Mikos said she couldn’t re- member how long the first out- age was this year, which also resulted in food having to be chucked out, but the second one was for 22 hours and also broke her soft ice cream machine. She said she was fortunate this outage came late in the sea- son. “If this was July, the bins would have been stacked to the top of the freezer.” While Mikos said she won’t have any hard ice cream today — that delivery doesn’t come until next week — she will have soft ice cream and burgers to serve. “Bad things come in threes so I hope that means it doesn’t go out a fourth time.” kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca KEVIN ROLLASON SUPPLIED Pre-made frozen treats had to be thrown away. A4 BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS COMFORT AND CONNECTION 680 CJOB radio host Greg Mackling and CJOB manager of talk and talent Lauren McNabb hold companion pets during the Victoria Hospital Foundation’s 10th anniversary Miracle Garden Party at Le Marché St. Norbert Farmers' Market Thursday. These realistic and interactive pets are designed to bring comfort, connection and companionship to patients living with dementia as part of fund-a-need. Mackling is holding ‘Blake’ and McNabb is holding ‘Kit.’ ;