WINNIPEG — First Nations hit by wildfires pleaded with the federal and Manitoba governments to send additional equipment and resources, while dozens more people were forced to flee northern communities Tuesday.

Mathias Colomb First Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, has two fire trucks but no high-volume water pumps and hoses for ground crews working to protect structures, Chief Gordie Bear told a news conference in Winnipeg via video.

“(We have) one-inch hoses. They’re no bigger than a garden hose,” Bear said remotely from The Pas, where some evacuees are staying. “We have nothing but hoses for our gardens. Nothing to fight fire with. We’re vulnerable. We have to run all the time.”

A roughly 10,000-hectare fire is out of control east of the community.

David Monias, chief of Pimicikama

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