Last Pauingassi evacuees forced from homes by smoke en route to Winnipeg

The last residents ofPauingassiFirst Nation forced from their homes due to heavy forest fire smoke are expected to arrive in Winnipeg Monday.

Residents from the Manitoba First Nation, as well as nearbyLittle Grand Rapids First Nation, began arrivingin Winnipeg Sunday to escape the thick smoke billowing from wildfires in northwestern Ontario and eastern Manitoba.

"It's such a fluid situation,"Michelle Palansky, a Winnipeg-based communications advisor with the Canadian Red Cross, said Monday morning. The Red Crossis overseeing the evacuation on behalf ofIndigenous Services Canada.

"We have a completed evacuation of Priority 1 residents from Little Grand Rapids and we are proceeding with the evacuation of Pauingassi residents who are Priority 1."

The evacuations are considered precautionary, and focus on people who are most at risk from the heavy smoke.

A total of 122peoplefrom Little Grand Rapids mainly infants, their parents and people with respiratory issues are now in Winnipeg.

Another78 people from Pauingassi a fly-in community 280 kilometres north of Winnipeg are expected to arrive in Manitoba's capital by the end of the day Monday. Just under 60had arrived by noon.

Evacuees will be staying in Winnipeg hotels until the smoke clears.

This is the second time in just over a year that some residents from Pauingassi have been forced to leave their homes.

In May 2018,a nearby forest fire forced more than 400 out their homes and into Winnipeg hotels. It was more than a month before they could return.

As smoke continues to envelop easternManitoba, the Red Cross is monitoring whether more evacuations are necessary.

"There are a couple of other communities in the broader area that we are in constant communication with and are keeping an eye on," Palanskysaid.

"It's going to be dependent on so many factors including the weather, the winds, the rain, the dry, lightning. So we're just keeping an eye out. We're ready to take action as needed."

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