Pinaymootang sisters battle wildfires on Manitoba's front lines
Two firefighting sisters from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba's Interlake region say they are looking forward to returning to the front lines of the provincial wildfire effort following a deployment battling the Nopiming Provincial Park blaze near Bissett.
Delilah Anderson, 22, and Heather Anderson, 21, completed their firefighter training last year and were sent to Bissett, about 160 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, earlier this month.
They said it was the second wildfire they had ever fought.
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"We're new, but we're doing something for our community," said Delilah, who hopes to be a role model for other young women and girls from Pinaymootang.
"I like helping out," she said.
Delilah Anderson is a 22-year-old firefighter from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba's Interlake region. She joined fire crews from across Canada and the United States on the front lines of the wildfire effort near Bissett, Man., in June. (Submitted to CBC News by Heather Anderson)
The Nopiming wildfire was more than 224,000 hectares in size — about five times the area of Winnipeg — as of Sunday, according to the province's most recent fire status report.
The fire, which stretches from south of Bird River to north of Bissett, is still out of control.
Last week, some residents, cottagers and business owners in the southern part of the park were allowed to return home. Bird, Booster, Flanders and Davidson lakes reopened on Wednesday, along with Provincial Road 315.
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The sisters said they are passionate about nature and the animals that live there. It was hard for them to see the forest so charred, with few animals roaming around the burned-out woods, they said.
The aftermath of a wildfire near Bissett, Man., in mid-June. (Submitted to CBC News by Heather Anderson)
"It's all burned. It just looks pretty sad over there…." Heather said.
"It was sad to see how much that has been burnt," Delilah added.
The crew the Andersons were in was tasked with putting out hotspots, taking special care to check low-lying areas where the flames could use underground roots to spread further.
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They also pulled 40-kilogram hoses from one site to the next, helping their team and others get water on the fire where it was most needed.
"It's kind of hard on your back when you're pulling back the hoses," Heather said.
"I heard that my crew was the fastest workers because we moved two different locations within three days," Heather said.
"We have a pretty strong crew," Delilah said.
Heather Anderson, 21, also joined fire crews on the front lines of the wildfire effort near Bissett, Man., in June. (Submitted to CBC News by Heather Anderson)
The sisters returned home over the weekend, after being on the ground for about a week. A family emergency forced them to head home early from their 20-day deployment.
However, they'll be back on the front lines for another 20-day stint starting on July 7.
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The Andersons were the only women on their crew, but they hope to inspire more young women and girls to be trained as firefighters and join them on the front lines.
"There's just a lot of young girls in the community that I want them to see what they're capable of…. When they see me, I want them to think that they could do it as well," Delilah said, adding that their family members are extremely proud of her and her sister.
Sisters Delilah and Heather Anderson say their firefighting crew feels like a second family. The Andersons were deployed to fight the Nopiming Provincial Park wildfire near Bissett, about 160 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. (Submitted to CBC News by Heather Anderson)
Although Delilah says it's hard to be away from her three young children and the rest of her family, she's looking forward to returning to the strong bonds she and Heather built in Bissett.
"You're making a second family out there with the crew members that you have," Delilah said.
This article, originally published by CBC News on June 24, 2025, was written by Lauren Scott with files from Gavin Axelrod.
Thumbnail image credit to Heather Anderson