Elaborate operation getting exhausted evacuees to safety – Winnipeg Free Press

Exhausted and stressed, hundreds of evaucees forced out by smoke and flames from Manitoba’s boreal forest landed by the planeload in Winnipeg and Brandon Wednesday.

By nightfall, the Canadian Red Cross hoped to have about 2,000 of the 3,700 residents from three remote First Nations, located about 600 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, safe on the ground in southern Manitoba.

The evacuation began Tuesday night as winds pushed a 15,000-hectare fire near Wasagamack First Nation. A full evacuation was ordered for the community of about 2,000 because of smoke and the nearby fire.

The Canadian Armed Forces was activated late Wednesday to assist in the evacuation effort.