Wildfire evacuee numbers climb above 17,000 in Manitoba, premier says [Video]

The number of wildfire evacuees in Manitoba has increased, with more likely as a handful of communities remain on alert.

“The numbers have continued to grow. We were saying 17,000. I think we can safely assume it’s north of that number now,” Premier Wab Kinew told CBC Manitoba’s Information Radio on Thursday morning.

He didn’t have an estimate on the total but said about 16,800 people are now registered with the Canadian Red Cross.

“And keep in mind, not everyone registers with us. Some folks, they just make the decision they’re going to stay with family,” Kinew said.

It’s been eight days since he declared a provincewide state of emergency due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba. Since then, the northwestern part of the province has also become a danger zone.

There are 15 communities under mandatory evacuation orders and another three under voluntary evacuation. 

Three others — Snow Lake, Norway House and …