WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says the province is declaring a state of emergency in Whiteshell Provincial Park due to wildfires.

He says two people who died Wednesday in a fire in the eastern part of the province means officials are taking the danger seriously and want additional powers to enforce evacuation orders.

An evacuation order issued for the park says people must be out by this afternoon.

Kinew says the two deaths have turned the province’s fire emergency into a tragedy, and flags have been lowered to half-mast at the legislature.

He’s urging people to obey evacuation orders and avoid campfires and fireworks over the long weekend.

Officials say the fire in the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet remains out of control.

There have been about 80 wildfires in the province so far this season, nearly double the average for this time of year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press