Scott Billeck

3 weeks ago | winnipegfreepress.com | Scott Billeck

LAC DU BONNET — If John Fleming wasn’t holding a phone to his ear, he was scribbling notes, scanning fire maps or absorbing the latest briefing — all from a cluster of folding tables at the town’s fire hall, where the emergency operations centre has become the nerve centre of the wildfire crisis.

3 weeks ago | winnipegfreepress.com | Scott Billeck

GRAND FORKS — A few kilometres north of this North Dakota city, a towering 15-metre-wide billboard along the I-29 highway stands out — especially if you’re Canadian. It’s rented by the C’mon Inn, a well-known hotel along the city’s 32nd Avenue, nestled among the shops Manitobans have frequented for decades. On this balmy Monday morning 235 kilometres south of Winnipeg, the hotel’s parking lot is quiet. The weekend crowd — if there had been one — has long since vanished.

3 weeks ago | winnipegfreepress.com | Scott Billeck

Andy and Debbie Dueck were settling in to watch the Jets-Stars playoff game Tuesday night at their Pointe du Bois cottage in Whiteshell Provincial Park when a knock at the door interrupted their plans. “All of a sudden, there was a truck in our driveway and a conservation officer at our door,” Andy said Thursday. The officer’s message was direct: a fast-moving wildfire burning near Bird River, about 15 kilometres north of their cottage, was threatening the area.

3 weeks ago | winnipegfreepress.com | Scott Billeck |Chris Kitching |Adam Treusch

As many as 1,000 people have been evacuated near Lac du Bonnet as a raging wildfire tears through the area, growing in intensity through the late afternoon and evening Tuesday. Loren Schinkel, the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, told the Free Press on Wednesday morning that Tuesday was a dark day for residents. “There are some truly horrific stories that I’ve heard, people being surrounded by flames,” Schinkel said.

3 weeks ago | winnipegfreepress.com | Scott Billeck

After yet another fire at the former Vulcan Iron Works site, owner Sheldon Blank says he’s uncertain about his next steps — but if a buyer came forward, he’d sell immediately. Blank said Sunday the North Point Douglas property, long listed for sale, has been a burden for years. It’s become impossible to insure and has been repeatedly hit by fires. “The punishment I’ve taken is enormous,” Blank said.