At least three Christian camps in central Canada have been evacuated as wildfires burn out of control along the border of Manitoba and Ontario provinces.
Inner City Youth Alive’s Gem Lake Wilderness Camp and Camp Cedarwood were forced to leave on Wednesday as the fires in Lac du Bonnet and Nopiming Provincial Park continue to grow.
Camp Cedarwood said in a post on Facebook that they were evacuated due to precautionary measures.
“Please pray for safety for everyone involved. We know other camps (Gem Lake ICYA and Bird River) are in more challenging situations than we are, being much closer to the fire, and many people have needed to find other places to live, etc,” said Camp Cedarwood in the post. “Pray that rain would come and firefighters would be able to do their work safely.”
Earlier this week, Bird River Bible Camp, operated by Southland Church in Steinbach, was also evacuated. A church post on Facebook stated that, “The fire is approximately 1km away from the camp and is moving in quickly.”
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An update on Thursday afternoon added, “(The) fires remain a concern and are out of control . . . Our security cameras show smoke on or near our driveway.”
Similarly, Inner City Youth Alive says that the fire in Nopiming Provincial Park is threatening their Gem Lake Wilderness Camp.
“The fire is moving at an alarming rate, and right now it’s right on the southwest shore of our lake,” said Kent Dueck, founder and executive director of Inner City Youth Alive.
He says two days ago, the prevailing winds were heading east, and it looked like they would lose the camp.
“We were praying, and then we saw the winds change to blow more north, and right now we’re walking on eggshells, whether we’re going to lose the camp or not.”
The goal of their camp is to provide a space where youth can come quietly before God and where leaders can strengthen their faith and leadership skills.
“So many people take for granted safety in the basics like three meals a day, but for many of our kids, camp means something. They mark it as the best week of their year,” said Dueck.
“A lot of kids (are) really, really concerned that they’ll lose the place that they’ve grown up in and they love so much. We’re praying for a miracle here.”
Prayers for rain, first responders
On Wednesday, authorities in Manitoba announced the closure of Whiteshell Provincial Park, which covers 680,000 acres, “due to extreme fire conditions.”
This follows the closure of other recreational areas including Nopiming, Pinawa Dam, Poplar Bay, Wallace Lake, South Atikaki, and Manigotagan River provincial parks.
A report by NASA Earth Observatory noted that the fires have grown to cover nearly 300,000 acres across the two provinces in central Canada.
Wildfires broke out along the Manitoba-Ontario border in Canada and in northern Minnesota in May 2025. Several of the fires grew rapidly due to record heat and dry, windy conditions in the area.
🛰️: @nasa Aqua on May 13, 2025 pic.twitter.com/QGWzG2eUhc
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) May 15, 2025
The wildfires have resulted in two fatalities, as two campers were trapped near Lac du Bonnet, and more than 1,000 Canadians have been forced to evacuate their homes.
According to officials, both fires are still burning out of control. And although there is rain in the forecast, officials say it is not enough to extinguish or make a noticeable difference in the situation.
Dueck of Inner City Youth Alive is asking people to pray for their situation.
“Just pray for the obvious, that the rain comes and that it will just solve it,” said Dueck. “Pray for staff and for favor for the summer because we have our staff in place, our plans in place and lots of kids waiting and hoping to get out to camp for a wonderful week.”
The post from Southland Church also urges prayer. “Let’s continue to pray for all the cottagers, surrounding homeowners, businesses, the community, and all the first responders.”
This article, which had been updated, was originally published at CHVN Radio.
Journalist Colleen Houde is a news writer and on-air host at CHVN in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
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One Response
They didn’t break out, they were started, most likely directed energy weapons just like last time. People need to wake up and pray as the enemies ws are at war with are very evil. We need divine intervention.