Thousands of residents in three Manitoba First Nations watched a wildfire race towards their homes as they were quickly evacuated to safety.
The Canadian Red Cross has been part of a large rescue effort to continue to aid the people left on the three Island Lake First Nations and bring them to safety. Many have been flown in to and continue to arrive in Brandon, Man. to stay in hotels for the unforeseeable future.
READ MORE: Wildfires force 3 Manitoba communities to evacuate
About 2,000 people from Wasagamack First Nation were moved by boat to St. Theresa Point First Nation Tuesday night as they watched their homes disappear in to the smoke.
“The sky was just dark of smoke and those cinders flying. Those ashes were just falling on us,” Wasagamack First Nation Resident, Norah Whiteway, said.
Many of the thousands that were evacuated simply left with the clothes on their backs as electricity cut in and out and they fled to the boats for safety.
“It was scary because I couldn’t even go home. I just wanted to round up my grandsons. I still have grandsons back there,” Whiteway said.
Many residents that piled in to the hotels in Brandon said they were separated from family members and were anxiously waiting for news to know if their loved ones made it out of the path of the fire safely.
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