Some cottagers in Nopiming Provincial Park ordered to leave as wildfire approaches

Joanne Klassen and her family watched in fear on Sunday as a large fire in northwestern Ontario inched closer to their cabin in Nopiming Provincial Park near Manitoba's eastern border.

By then, the blaze was a little over six kilometres away from their island cottage. Klassen said her family could already see the flames moving in, and the billowing smoke was getting even closer.

"So we didn't get a lot of sleep last night," she said.

On Monday morningthe family got word they and everyone else in the park's Davidson Lake cottage subdivision had been ordered to leave by 4 p.m., as the wildfire continued to move west.

The family including Klassen's daughter, her two young children and several dogs ended up leaving their planned two-week stay a week early.

Klassen said it took four boat loads to get everything they needed back to the mainland. The cottage has been in her family since 1951, so the items rescued were mostly symbolic, including photographs taken down off the walls and original paperwork.

"There's a lot of memories," Klassen said over the phone, holding her dog Sam in her lap as she and her husband, Allen Klassen, made their way back to their home in Winkler, Man.

"Whatever's left behind now is just stuff.We're all safe and that's what matters."

A provincial spokesperson said there are about 50 cottages and no permanent residences in the area being evacuated.

Since those are seasonal properties, the exact number of people forced to leave isn't known, the spokesperson said.

More evacuations possible

A potential evacuation notice has also been issued for cottagers and residents in the nearby areas of Booster Lake, Flanders Lake and Bird Lake.

Melissa MacCoy was already packing up a few things at her family cottage in Bird Lake Monday afternoon when she was handed a piece of paper with that news.

"It would be prudent for residents to prepare to leave this area with very short notice," the evacuation alert said.

"This alert may be followed by an immediate order to evacuate, with more updated information on the condition, and when an evacuation order is issued you must leave your home immediately."

MacCoy and her partnerScott Hiebertdecided on Friday to come out to the cabin from Winnipeg to make sure some of the priceless items in the cottage built by her grandfather including his spectacles and old fishing licence made it out safely in case of a fire.

But she said it still felt surreal to get the notice that their site could be next to evacuate.

"My heart kind of dropped a bit," she said. "It's a little scary."

Value protection efforts on structures atDavidson Lake are underway, the province said.

That means sprinklers are being placed on cottages and other structures in the area.

Roughly 24 members of the Manitoba Municipal Fire Service are helping with that work, which is being led by the fire commissioner's office, the provincial spokesperson said.

Nopiming Provincial Provincial Park is about 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, near the Ontario border.

According to the Manitoba Wildfire Program, there are currently 154 wildfires burning in the province.

To report a wildfire, call 911 or the toll-free TIP line at1-800-782-0076.