Forest fire prompts evacuation of Beresford cottage subdivision at Nopiming park

A major forest fire burning near the Manitoba-Ontario border has forced the evacuation of the Beresford cottage subdivision at Nopiming Provincial Park on Friday evening.

The mandatory evacuation order comes as the 10,000-hectare fire worsens near Beresford Lake, officials with the Manitoba government's wildfire program announced shortly before 6 p.m. Friday.

Thewildfire has grown, making it a threat to cottages in the area, a provincial government spokesperson told CBC News in an email.

The spokesperson added about half a dozen people are estimated to be in the subdivision at this time of year. Conservation officers and RCMP are checking the area to make sure everyone knows about the evacuation order.

Another forestfire near the border, aboutsix kilometres northeast of Caddy Lake covers about 700 hectares as of late Friday afternoon, according to the province.

There, residents ofTannisandGundyLakes have been asked to leave their homesas aprecautionary measure, and residents of Royal Lake are told to be prepared for evacuation, according to Jonathan Scott, fire information officer for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Both firesare close to the Manitoba-Ontario border and winds on Friday have been pushing the flames east into Ontario.

Ontario fire crews areleadingthe battle in the Caddy Lake fire, with Manitoba firefighters assisting them, according to the Manitoba government.

As a precaution, residents inManitoba'sFlorence and Marion Lakes areas have already beenasked to consider leaving their homes until the threat has passed.

Meanwhile, officials in Ontario have asked100 people inIngolf, just across the border,to leave their homes. The mandatory evacuation order there was made at 11 p.m. Thursday.

• Forest fire in eastern Manitoba forces evacuation of Ingolf, Ont.

Water bombers from both provinces are being used to battle the flames andcrews were battling the fires until well into the night, saidGaryFriesen, manager of the wildfire program withManitoba Sustainable Development.

"Right now we're just hitting it with everything we've got and hopefully we'll have a break in the weather with some of this cloud cover and the temperature drop," he said."It will help a little bit, but unfortunately we need the winds to drop right now too," he said.

This is like dealing with a big monster.- CameronMcLachlan

Cameron McLachlan, who has lived in Ingolf for 28 years, and has seen a lot of close-call fires but none as near the community as this one.

"Everything's fairly tense. You can't see the sky, there's so much smoke," he said.

McLachlan, his wife and their daughter are among those who have left Ingolf and are temporarily staying in West Hawk Lake. He said the provincial fire crews have set up pumps and sprinkler systems to protect the buildings in Ingolf.

A member of the Southeast Whiteshell Fire Department,McLachlan said he and some members were called out when the fire first started but they quickly realized it was beyond their capabilities.

His crew is trained in dealing with structure fires, not wildfires.

"This is like dealing with a big monster," he said, adding he can only sit back and wait to see when he might be able to return home.

"I think we're sort of at the mercy of the wind now."

Meanwhile, Manitoba wildfire crews are also working on five fires that started on Thursday at the following locations:

• Near Lake Winnipegosis.
• Near the Peguis First Nation.
• Near Whitemouth, where crews are assisting Whitemouth Fire Department.
• Near Dauphin River.
• Near the Sagkeeng First Nation, where crews are assisting the local fire department.

The provincial government says 45 wildfires have been recorded in Manitoba so far this year, which is below the average of 70 fires for this time of year.

Hot temperatures, dry conditions and high winds have raised the fire risk the province. Officials are urging people to be extremely cautious and do what they can to prevent fires in their area.