Minaki Fire

[rtmg]

Howdy Y'all........ just got back from 3 weeks in the Dominican Republic. Last night was watching local news when this hit me.
Yesterday (sunday) at 3pm, a forest fire has started in the Minaki area. Local media reported it as being "close" to the Minaki Lodge. This isn't the truth..... well sort of it is, but if you know the area it isn't. The fire started in the Catherine Lake area, right along highway 596. They are fighting it with 4 bombers & crews. Locals have been evacuated & there has been loss of property. Nobody has had any personal injuries. It is very hot here right now & there is no forecast of rain in the near future. The fire has been moving in a north / northwest direction. NOW, the big thing about this is that highway 596 (Minaki Highway) has been closed to ALL traffic heading into / outta the area. So some have been stranded in the area & some of you heading up may not be able to get to your destination.
I'd suggest to call your resort to see if / when they might re-open this highway. You could also check out our website www.cky.ca for possible updates. There is a phone number available for a "fire report" for the area but I think that they only want us locals to use that number.
I hope that this fire is contained as soon as possible. I'm positive that the ladies & men out there fighting it are doing the best that they can to do so.

Good Fishen
Rob

[rtmg]

Further info......

http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_minaki20030818

Good Fishen
Rob

[Swede811]

Any updates on the fire south of Minaki?
jiggs

[rtmg]

Spoke to a friend in Minaki. As of last night @midnight the fire has made it all the way to the bottom of Pistol Lake / the turn off to Whitedog/Minaki. He said that it wasn't looking too good. There was a real bad storm that rolled thru & LUCKLY the winds were strong from the north. A south wind & things would be ugly..... There was some rain & tonight there is more rain predicted. In Winnipeg here we are currently under heavy clouds with storm warnings. It has been raining heavy to the west. This storm is moving eastward & by late tonight it will be over the eastern part of Manitoba & N.W Ontario.
Hopefully the Minaki area gets all the rain she'll ever need.


Good Fishen
Rob

[Swede811]

WOW, thanks for the info. How about the folks over on Gunn Lake are they in the path?
jiggs

[Le pickerel]

Just phoned in and received a report from the Minaki area.

They say the fire is not yet under control but it is not spreading. They called off the water bombers and are attacking it with choppers and ground crews. It is headed in an East, Southeast direction (very slowly) and is not a threat to any cottages at this time. It never got close to Pistol Lake or the intersection of Hwy 525 and 596.

They received about a half inch of rain Wed. night which did not hurt the situation. Highways will be open Friday morning starting at 8:00 am with traffic being allowed in and out on even and odd hours only. ie: 8:00 in, 9:00 out etc.

Hope this clears things up for some out there, I know I am relieved since I have a place on Pistol.
Have fun out there and please be careful with fire. I saw this fire in its infancy and was surprised at how fast it spread given they had four water bombers on it within the first hour. Everything is so dry it doesn't take much.

Best fishes

Le pic