Manitoba’s Spring of Smoke, Smoulder and Strength
It’s not the call of loons, lazy cottage days or lake breezes defining Canadian summers—not anymore. With smoke lingering across Manitoba, recent wildfires have disrupted not just the landscape but the lives of those who depend on it.
In Lac du Bonnet, lives were lost. Whiteshell and Nopiming Provincial Parks, two of Manitoba’s best-known playgrounds, were hugely impacted with cottagers, visitors and businesses evacuated quickly.
I could smell the familiar spring fragrance outside my Saskatchewan home—fires were burning. Though rain followed days later, the damage was already done. In Saskatchewan’s Narrow Hills region, both the Gem Lakes and Lost Echo campgrounds announced full season closures due to significant wildfire damage and destroyed infrastructure.
Wildfire season across Canada typically runs from May to September. This year, some regions have been hit harder than others. In neighbouring Manitoba, more than 80 wildfires have already burned through boreal forests, surrounding towns and beloved wilderness destinations.
For Caleigh Christie, co-owner of Falcon Trails Resort, it was a swift and sobering departure. “We had 20 hours to do it,” she said. “Our young staff who live on-site jumped to the pump,” asking what needed to be done. “It was bing, bang, boom, shutting down cabins, moving propane tanks, opening fridges.”
These parks aren’t just wilderness. They’re homes, retreats and the seasonal lifeblood for tourism businesses. When the fires struck over the May 2025 long weekend, the traditional kickoff to Manitoba’s tourism season, businesses were forced to close.
“We lost six full nights of reservations,” said Christie. “Any night that we’re closed is a 100 per cent loss at the resort.” Still, Christie was lucky. The fire came within 10 kilometres but spared their community and resort.
“For us, it was only five days,” said DJ Seales, owner of Barrier Bay Resort in Whiteshell Provincial Park. “But the timing was brutal. We lost the May long weekend and a large group booking tied to an Aboriginal gathering. Our cabins, food truck, our store, all sat idle.”
Nopiming Provincial Park and Garrett Fache, owner and paddling guide with Wild Loon Adventures, operating out of Bird River North, haven’t been as fortunate. “The largest affected area so far is the Bird River area, which has been the predominant direction of the fires here in Manitoba.” Fache has already written off 2025 and remains unsure about 2026. For now, he and others are “just sitting tight and holding their breath.” After speaking with conservation officials and local fire departments, Fache has already adapted paddling courses through less commonly used rapids.
Premier Wab Kinew expressed unwavering support, saying, “This is a very difficult moment for a lot of people in our province, but I wanted to indicate to folks that have been displaced that we’re going to have your back.”
Amidst these moments of uncertainty, despite fires burning on, a quiet reconciliation began, revealing an extraordinary story of community resolve, adaptability and resilience.
“Manitobans are known for doing what needs to be done and figuring it out later,” said Linda Whitfield, Vice President of Communications and Strategy Engagement at Travel Manitoba. Her team pivoted quickly this spring when hosting Rendezvous Canada, Canada’s biggest tourism showcase. “We scrambled to replace affected experiences in Whiteshell, but guests were happy with it. That’s a Manitoba thing. That’s a tourism thing.”
At Barrier Bay, Seales expressed how community bonds deepened. “We all supported each other emotionally and practically. Some resorts stayed open to feed fire crews. Others shared perishables, gave out store codes. That’s just rural living. If someone needs it, you give it.”
Manitobans, he said, “turn into a family. It doesn’t matter who you are. You just help.”
“We’ve been a force depending on each other and relying on and supporting each other. I haven’t felt alone, which is important when it comes to resiliency,” said Christie. Local hotels housed frontline workers and volunteers arrived with tools, sprinklers and chainsaws. “We had about 120 volunteer firefighters show up,” she said. “It was a real all-hands-on-deck effort.”
Fache said he experienced kindness. “People from all walks of life were reaching out and trying to help where they could, even if it was just emotional support. It’s beautiful,” he shared.
During those days, perspective emerged.
“This is a natural park. Fire must come through to make room for the new,” said Seales. “As I was leaving during the evacuation, that’s what I felt. This isn’t the end. The old is going out, the new is coming in.”
Fache echoed this statement. “From a sustainability standpoint, fires are vital for forests, giving land a chance to re-grow, clear out invasive species and start over. Prescribed fires have long been a part of Indigenous conservation. The land will come back, it’s what it does. It’ll take time, and new generations will be able to grow with the new forests.”
“You hear people say the fire destroyed the forest,” said Jack Dubois, former Director of Manitoba’s Provincial Wildlife Branch. “But in ecological terms, that’s just not true. Nature starts to regrow immediately.”
“Fire releases a big burst of nutrients locked up in trees and debris and that’s why the regrowth is so exuberant. A self-healing and self-perpetuating process,” Dubois explained.
Dubois has watched the boreal burn and return for decades. “That was a dramatic lesson in recovery,” he said of walking through a fire-scorched forest a decade later. “Jack pines had cones within three years,” showing the boreal forest fire-driving ecosystem’s resilience. “Everyone should go for a hike six months after a fire. It’s truly remarkable how fast the ecosystem heals.”
“New growth after a fire holds soil, reduces erosion and sets the stage for longer-lived species. It’s an ecological reset.” Wildlife benefits, too. “Moose, snowshoe hares and many bird species are fire-adaptive and will thrive in young forests,” Dubois said.
Still, the emotional toll is undeniable. “It’s a weird feeling thinking folks won’t have their first introductions to paddling in the old forests of Bird River and Whiteshell,” said Fache.
However, hope endures.
Christie urged travellers not to cancel their plans. “The Falcon Lake area is open for business. This is our livelihood, our economy. And it’s safe.” Her advice? Connect with the local people on the ground directly to find out what’s happening.
“Keep us in mind,” Whitfield said. “Manitoba is a very large province, and we’d love to still welcome guests. Our operators will need visitors to think of them again.”
As the skies clear and embers cool, this spring won’t be only remembered for loss alone. Like the land, Manitoba’s people know how to begin again.
