Costs of Manitoba’s extreme wildfire season start to take shape, evacuations ongoing

The Manitoba government has signed a 30-million-dollar contract with the Canadian Red Cross for evacuee support and other services related to this year's wildfires.

The recently disclosed contract is the first glimpse into the cost of this year's wildfire season, which provincial officials say is the most severe in at least 30 years.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala (SAH'-lah) says it's still too early to estimate a final cost, and the government is committed to supporting people who need help. The Red Cross contract alone is worth more than half of the 50-million dollars the N-D-P government sets aside each year for natural disasters and emergencies.

The former Progressive Conservative government had budgeted 100-million dollars annually, and sometimes ended up spending much more.

Earlier this summer, some 21-thousand Manitobans were out of their communities, with many put up in shelters and hotels. Many evacuees have since returned home, but the province remains under a state of emergency, and some communities are still under mandatory evacuation orders.