Majority of Leaf Rapids wildfire evacuees now home, but residents upset by break-ins during evacuation

Most wildfire evacuees have returned to Leaf Rapids after spending a week away from home, but some were disheartened to find their homes broken into and want to see a change in leadership after a "gong show" evacuation.

The town declared a state of emergency on June 26, with an approximately 10,500-hectare fire burning eight kilometres outside of the community. Almost 400 residents were relocated to Thompson until the province lifted an evacuation order on July 4.

Liz Charrier had just left Leaf Rapids and was on a bus to Brandon, where she studies education, when the evacuation began on June 26. Her mother, partner and two children were given an hour to pack up before they fled to Thompson, she said.

After the evacuation order was lifted on Tuesday, Charrier said her partner, Sonny Moose, returned home to find it "upside down."

"He said that everything has been thrown all over my house," she told CBC News.

All of the food in their freezers was gone and all of their clothes had been rummaged through, said Charrier.

"Other than the food, the only other thing that was valuable that was stolen was my partner's guitar," which was worth $800 and had his daughter's name inscribed on it, she said.

Some of her home's windows were already boarded up from a previous break-in just three weeks prior. Charrier filed a report of the second break-in to a Mountie, who called the incident unfortunate, but told Charrier that  "everyone is OK [and] a house is just a house,'" she said.

"That didn't really give me peace of mind, because we were feeling like they were protecting our property while we left."

Manitoba RCMP confirmed to CBC News on Monday that two break-ins took place during the evacuation and the investigations are ongoing.

Guitar returned

Charrier said the guitar was retrieved on Wednesday, after she posted about the theft to Facebook. Someone saw the instrument and told her partner who had it, she said.

"It was like an $800 guitar, but even if someone gave them $800 back, that wouldn't have filled the void," said Charrier. "It's sentimental for him. He couldn't replace that."

She heard from two other women in the community who said their homes were also broken into during the wildfire evacuation. Rumours about break-ins swirled in Thompson during the evacuation, which worried many, she said.

"We all thought this could possibly happen, but I honestly didn't think it would."

There are people in the community who have been known to break into houses, said Charrier, and all three women believe the same people perpetrated the break-ins.

She's grateful for the people who stayed behind during the evacuation to check in on animals that were left in the community and other people's houses.

"They did a lot of work they didn't have to do, and I just feel like if we had maybe a better system in place before all of this happened, that maybe things would have been planned out and handled a lot better."

'Eerie silence' after town's evacuation

Although the province's wildfire map shows the fire still classified as "out of control" as of Friday, a provincial spokesperson said information provided during Tuesday's fire update indicated the now over-20,000-hectare fire ihas been moving away from the community.

The province said Thursday that most, if not all, Leaf Rapids residents who fled the community have now returned.

Randi Anderson remained in Leaf Rapids throughout the evacuation order. There aren't many kennels in Thompson, so she stayed behind to care for her four dogs and two cats.

"I was like, 'I got nowhere to go with them. I'm not leaving all of them home,'" she told CBC News.

Anderson roamed the town daily with a few others to provide food and water for 28 animals.

"I enjoyed it, honestly, checking on them like two or three times a day," she said. "Most of them stay close to their houses, [so] it was easy to find most of them every day."

The town was filled with "eerie silence" while she helped care for 25 dogs and three cats in the community, according to Anderson, but her fondness for furry friends pushed her forward.

"I'm an animal lover. I was born and raised with them, like I always had animals growing up."

Cecil Sanderson, a member of an ad hoc committee of wildfire evacuees that formed in Thompson, says Leaf Rapids residents were disappointed to learn of the three break-ins that occurred while they were away, but are largely in high spirits now that they're back home.

"We're going to get settled in and then start enjoying life again," Sanderson told CBC News on Friday.

Sanderson said the "gong show" evacuation to Thompson has proved the importance of good leadership for the community, and residents will discuss ways to reintroduce local residents into those positions.

The town has had a provincially appointed administrator since several council members resigned a few years ago.

Charrier would also like to see the town led by people in the community rather than the province, and said she remains optimistic about the future of Leaf Rapids.

"I still have hope in my community," said Charrier.

"I know that we're a group of strong people, and we've made it through worse things. We're going to make it through this."