Manitoba wildfire evacuee raises safety concerns

It’s been months of stress for a mother from Lynn Lake. She details the life of a Manitoba wildfire evacuee — from being held at gunpoint to the day-to-day struggle of raising five kids in a hotel room.

“It’s taken a toll on everybody,” said Priscilla Markwart. “Basically, you just do what you have to do. It’s survival. It’s all we’re doing is surviving right now.”

Markwart has done her best to make a hotel room a home for her children over the last four months. But reality set in when she claims a man with a gun followed her to her room.

“I had five kids and I had to tell them, like duck down behind the bed because I don’t know if this guy is going to shoot at my door,” she explained.

The man was arrested by Brandon Police, but she says she still sees the dangers, like drug dealers, around evacuee hotels. 

“It’s scary because you’re trying to keep them (her children) safe. We’ve gotten warned to watch our kids closely because there are people out there trying to abduct kids. They know we’re not from here,” said Markwart.

Inside, she tries to keep them occupied and happy with projects, but says nothing is offered for children’s programming.

Lynn Lake and Marcel Colomb residents have banded together to take their children out for activities.

They’re also paying out of pocket for nutritious food, which they say isn’t provided as part of their daily meals.

“Our kids aren’t used to eating this. Like, we’re used to eating wild meat and fish and fruits and vegetables…. We’re all getting sick from this,” said Markwart.

CityNews reached out to the Canadian Red Cross regarding the lack of nutritious food and the safety for wildfire evacuees, and in a response, the Red Cross said they are working to provide supports to evacuees.

“The Canadian Red Cross is working with community leadership to ensure that meals and support provided meet the needs of all community members. If concerns are raised, then our team works closely with individuals, families, community leadership and hotels responsible for providing services to address the situation as quickly as possible and ensure the needs of those we serve are met,” read the statement, before adding any concerns should be brought forward to the Red Cross, unless it’s a safety matter, in which case contact police.

She’s hoping they can go back home soon, but it may be a month or more in this room. In the meantime, she’s hoping to homeschool her children as much as possible with school starting for most kids in Manitoba next week.

“The kids are already going through enough that if they start going to school here, then say they make friends or they have a hard time, it seems easier to bring them home and do the schooling there.”