MN: GOV WALZ: CAMPERS RESCUED FROM WILDFIRES
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Minnesota (WCCO) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday members of the Royal Canadian Air Force successfully evacuated 11 Minnesota teenagers and four staff members from wildfires north of the border.
Officials with YMCA of the North say the teens were split into two groups. Both have exited Wabakimi Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, and are on their way back to Minnesota. The park is about 175 miles north of the Minnesota border.
One group was evacuated overnight by plane Wednesday, and the other group was “evacuated by helicopter in coordination with Canadian authorities,” the YMCA says, adding that the campers, ranging in age from 16 to 18, “have progressed through our wilderness program” and are led by “highly-trained guides.”
Walz, who extended a peacetime emergency through September, applauded the quick efforts of Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the Canadian military in the rescues.
“The news couldn’t have been better this morning,” Walz said.
Michel Tigan, who leads adventure and wellbeing for YMCA of the North, said the group spent about 48 hours waiting because smoke, wind and fire conditions made for a difficult for evacuation.
The group stayed connected using a satellite phone and crews were able to track them, allowing the rescue team to monitor their location.
When given the green light, local, state and international partners worked together to bring everyone out safely.
“They’re in good spirits, probably a little hungry and ready for a shower, but medically they are doing well,” said Tigan.
She said staff are trained to handle emergencies like this and that evacuations have become more common in recent years.
“We would be remiss in learning from experiences like this if we weren’t evaluating and changing plans both for this summer and in the future,” she said.
YMCA officials say everyone was evaluated after the evacuation before making their way home.
Evacuations and searches continue in northern Minnesota and the BWCA, with crews making sure no one is left behind.
A mandatory closure and evacuation order is in effect for the million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Tour guides with Wilderness Canoe Base in Grand Marais had to cut trips short Tuesday due to wildfire evacuations.
“Incredibly smoky, very hazy. We saw a lot of the, just the sky turned kind of brown and orangey,” Jenny Batten with Project Success said.
Project Success partners with the Wilderness Canoe Base and has taken over 212 students up to the Boundary Waters this summer, but hazardous conditions prompted this last trip to end early.
“It was a bit of anxiety inducing when you’re seeing billows of smoke in the distance and trying to figure out, is that near us? Is that not near us?” Stephanie Carpenter, director of the Wilderness Canoe Base, said.
Conditions have only further deteriorated on Wednesday.
“There’s little bits of ash coming down from the sky and so the bags and our canoes and the surface of the water has a little layer of ash particles and partially burned leaves floating on the water,” Carpenter said.
GPS locators were key in communicating to tour groups about the evacuations.
“The Garmins were able to text and they’re also able to locate the group. So once they turn it on, we can find out exactly where each group was and we would text them any kind of information,” Batten said.
Now that all the children have been evacuated, employees are preparing for the final part of the ready-set-go evacuation protocol.
“We were ready for a couple days and now we are currently in set mode, so all of our staff have their things packed and in their car and the car is pointed out, but we are hunkered down,” Carpenter said.
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