Manitoba urges thousands to evacuate

MANITOBA declared a state of emergency and urged thousands of people in northern and eastern parts of the province to evacuate on Wednesday, as wildfires spread in Central and Western Canada.

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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference that 17 000 people needed to move quickly, including from the city of Flin Flon.

Many will be put up at soccer fields and community centres in Winnipeg and other cities, and federal armed forces were arriving to help transport evacuees, he said.

“This is the largest evacuation in many Manitobans’ living memory and this will require significant resources and co-operation from all levels of government,” Kinew said in a statement.