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Trees burned by wildfires in the surrounding area of Flin Flon, Man., June 12. Nearly 560 wildfires burned across the country on Sunday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.Mike Deal/The Canadian Press

Officials in Manitoba are hopeful that an influx of international firefighters paired with cooler, wetter weather will slow the raging wildfires that have triggered the province’s second state of emergency this year.

As of Sunday, there were 122 active fires burning in the province, which is experiencing its most destructive wildfire season in three decades, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Premier Wab Kinew cited the need for more shelter spaces for evacuees when he made the rare declaration of a second state of emergency on Thursday.

About 160 international firefighting personnel are now arriving in Manitoba, the forest fire centre said. They include 102 from Mexico, 43 from New Zealand and 15 from Australia. They will join 101 personnel from Mexico and seven from New Zealand already in the province; 268 from the U.S. who assisted in recent weeks have since returned home.

The firefighters from New Zealand are expected to assist with the Cross Lake fire, which has grown to 1,340 square kilometres since it was first discovered on May 20 and is threatening Highway 6, the province’s critical north-south route.

Thompson, the largest city in northern Manitoba, issued a “pre-alert” evacuation notice on Friday, warning residents that the fire could impede travel to the south. Residents were advised to be prepared to leave with 12 hours’ notice should a mandatory order be issued.

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Separately, another wildfire, discovered July 4, continued to burn out of control just north of Thompson on Sunday.

Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook said the Cross Lake fire is about 20 kilometres from the highway, but that even heavy smoke could force its closings, stranding residents.

“It would mean we’re stuck in Thompson with nowhere to go,” she said in an interview on Sunday. “There’s nowhere that can take 15,000 people north of us.”

But Ms. Smook said she was cautiously optimistic. Wildland firefighters have gone “above and beyond” on both fires, she said, and their municipal counterparts have been installing sprinklers on some homes to protect assets.

The fire north of Thompson showed little fire activity on the weekend, with cooler temperatures, rain and humidity working in the city’s favour. Meanwhile, residents continued to fuel up at gas stations and complete preplanning registration forms in the event of an evacuation, which Ms. Smook saw as a sign they were heeding the city’s warnings.

“Manitoba in general has suffered greatly this year,” she said. “Down south, when the forest fires started this year, there were a couple lives lost. So I think people understand that this could be a serious situation.”

Nearly a dozen Manitoba communities continued evacuation efforts this weekend, including for around 4,000 people in Garden Hill First Nation and more than 1,000 near Snow Lake.

Across Canada, nearly 560 wildfires burned on Sunday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

In Ontario, there were 52 active wildland fires in the northwest region of the province, including 13 deemed out of control, according to Alison Bezubiak, a fire information officer with the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

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Fire operations to fight four fires, including Red Lake 62, which is south of Pikangikum First Nation, are in an early phase, she said. They are being staffed by 18 fire crews and supported by 12 helicopters, she added, and additional staff are expected to arrive in the coming days.

“Firefighters have met with challenging conditions over the past several days,” said Ms. Bezubiak in a statement. “Poor visibility due to smoke drift has limited the use of aircraft, as well as ongoing drought conditions in the Red Lake fire management area that support active fire behaviour on sections of the various fires.”

The wildfires have prompted evacuations in Pikangikum First Nation and North Spirit Lake First Nation, which started this weekend. In a social-media post July 10, the Ontario Provincial Police Northwest Region said that about 2,000 people were expected to be evacuated from Pikangikum First Nation, with relocation to Mississauga and Toronto.

As of Saturday morning, there were five active fires listed by the Saskatchewan government as “large, complex or located close to communities.”

They include one north of La Plonge 192, a reserve of the English River First Nation, and Beauval, a village that is about 650 kilometres northwest of Regina. Those communities, along with several others, remain under an active evacuation order as of Friday morning.

As well, there has been an evacuation of about 160 priority individuals from Montreal Lake Cree Nation, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.

In B.C., the August Lake wildfire that ignited Saturday near Princeton prompted the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to declare a local state of emergency and issue an evacuation order for some properties, including the Princeton Golf Club, and an alert for several others.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday that wildfires are worsening across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, and expressed his gratitude to first responders.

“The federal government is working with First Nations across orders of government to fight these devastating fires and to keep people safe,” he wrote in a post to X. “As always, we stand ready to provide additional support whenever and wherever required.”

What do you want to know about air quality?

Hundreds of wildfires have sent smoke across Canada and beyond this country's borders this summer, and now smoke blanketing Toronto and the GTA is posing a "very high risk" to health. Are you constantly checking your weather apps, or just trying to figure out what the different alerts mean? Our health and science teams are trying to answer your pressing questions about air quality and how you can protect yourself, and we want to know what you want to know. Submit your questions using the form below or e-mail us at audience@globeandmail.com with "Wildfire smoke" in the subject line. with

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