Northern Manitoba wildfire started at mining site after burn piles left smoldering: search warrant

Manitoba preservation investigators say the discharge, which eventually grew to over 85,000 hectares, started on May 7 after a burn pile reignited at the Toronto-based gold producer's MacLellan mine site, about 7.5 kilometres northeast of Lynn Lake.

By late May, the fire had come within five kilometres of Lynn Lake and forced the evacuation of the nearly 600 residents of the town, which is roughly 800 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Dozens of properties in the area were destroyed.

Early estimates peg damage from the fire at around $10 million, and the cleanup has involved a "tremendous amount of work," said Lynn Lake Mayor Brandon Dulewich, who also works as a firefighter with the local fire department.

"It's a tough pill to swallow, knowing that it's not something that just spontaneously happened," Dulewich said in an Aug. 27 interview.

Lynn Lake residents were able to return for a brief period beginning in June, but a second unrelated fire forced them to evacuate again on July 5. As of Wednesday, they were still waiting for word on when Manitoba Hydro would restore the town's power, allowing the evacuees to return.

"Most people haven't even gotten out to see the destruction yet," said Dulewich. "The whole community has been gone. They've lost their entire summer."

The search warrant documents stem from an investigation by Manitoba  preservation into whether Alamos Gold violated the province's Wildfires Act by starting a fire without taking "sufficient precautions" to ensure it could be kept under control.

A sergeant with Manitoba's Conservation Officer Service filed the sworn affidavit on June 11 to gain access to reports, drone data and other evidence allegedly held by two other contractors working at the mine. 

The sergeant travelled to Lynn Lake after the May 7 fire was reported, spoke to witnesses on the ground, viewed photos of the fire and examined evidence at the scene.

Alamos Gold staff told the investigators two fires started on May 7 — one to the south, which they believed originated from an old burn pile, and another to the north.

While the southern fire was contained, the northern one grew out of control, they told investigators.

Alamos had a permit to burn brush piles from May 1 to May 15, according to the documents. As part of the permit, the company is required to have specific water suppression equipment.

No actual burning occurred after May 3, but the documents say instead of using water to make sure the fires were out, the piles were allowed to "smolder and burn below the surface."

The investigators asked Alamos Gold staff how they ensured the burn piles were extinguished. The workers said they stirred the piles and installed a fire guard around them, according to the documents.  

Alamos "was negligent in ensuring that the fires that occurred on May 7, 2025, from burn piles … were properly extinguished," the sergeant wrote.

That's disputed by an Alamos Gold spokesperson.

"In all conversations with Manitoba Conservation officials, there was no discussion about lack of compliance in relation to fire suppression equipment, and in fact all required equipment was available," she wrote in a Sept. 3 emailed statement.

All controlled burns were done in "accordance with provincially approved permits," the spokesperson wrote.

A contractor performed the controlled burns, and the site was evacuated after the May 7 fire was reported, she said. After that, the Manitoba Wildfire Service assumed full control of fire suppression.

The spokesperson also said on May 27, Alamos loaned the Manitoba Wildfire Service its 1,000-gallon fire trailer. She did not respond when asked if water suppression was used on the burn piles before they reignited May 7.

A spokesperson for the Manitoba government declined to comment on these statements, saying the investigation is ongoing.

The spokesperson said they "welcome an investigation, and we will co-operate fully."

"The fire was deeply unfortunate, part of a tragic wildfire summer in Manitoba. We are thankful for the tremendous efforts of Manitoba Wildfire Services when they arrived on site and took the lead of fire suppression on May 8," the Alamos spokesperson wrote in the Sept. 11 statement.

"Alamos puts the safety of the local communities and our employees at the forefront."

Investigators say they were able to trace the fire back to the partially intact burn pile that still contained active embers.

While the burning of the piles was contracted out to another company, the sergeant wrote that because Alamos Gold held the permit, they were responsible to ensure it was properly extinguished.

None of the contractors targeted in the search warrant are under investigation, the document says.

The combination of high wind, increasing temperature, and low humidity led the surrounding vegetation to dry out and the burn pile to reignite on May 7, according to investigators.

See photos from Manitoba's 2025 wildfire season:

It soon spread and grew quickly, the investigators found, forcing the evacuation of the mine site, Burge Lake campground and cottages in the area.

"Had water suppression equipment as required by the regulation been present …[the fire] may have been suppressed and contained," the search warrant document says.

Investigators found it burned across the site's fire guards because roots and other combustible material had not been removed.

Attempts to contain the fire after it spread using heavy equipment were unsuccessful after some equipment got stuck in a bog, the search warrant said. The fire then spread over that equipment. 

Though the province indicated the fire was deemed under control on May 15, it was out of control again by May 20.

That day, an Alamos Gold worker told the investigators the fire was running across the mine site and quickly reaching the trees. The Manitoba Wildfire Service tried to use a helicopter to stop the fire, but it was too late.

Mayor Dulewich said heavy equipment can be used to snuff out a fire in a burn pile, but that always has to be followed up with water.

"You have to put out those hot spots," said Dulewich, who has worked in the construction industry. 

Alamos Gold opened its gold mine project in Lynn Lake in March 2025, a move celebrated by the town, which was established in the 1950s to support nickel mining. In the decades that followed, those mines shut down and Lynn Lake's population town dwindled, along with job opportunities.

When Alamos Gold signed a deal on the project with Marcel Colomb First Nation to usher in a new gold project in 2023, Dulewich said it gave "new life" to a dying town. 

"At the beginning of the year, everybody was ecstatic. The gold mine, people were so excited for it. And I think we can get back there," said Dulewich. "But I think there has to be amends."

Lynn Lake wildfire started at Alamos Gold site: search warrant

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