Mounties say a pink blanket, found on a gravel road near the home of Jack and Lilly Sullivan on day one of the search for the missing Nova Scotia children, is one of a variety of seized items that is being forensically examined as part of an “intensive” and “deliberate” major crime investigation.

In an update Wednesday, the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit said family confirmed the pink blanket belonged to Lilly, 6, who mysteriously disappeared along with her brother Jack, 4, from their home in Lansdowne more than two months ago.

Wildfires have burned through more than a million hectares of forest in Manitoba this year, prompting Premier Wab Kinew to declare a second provincewide state of emergency and call upon the military to help once again with thousands of evacuations from fly-in communities.

The province, which was under a state of emergency until late last month, made the latest declaration Thursday. More than 12,600 people across the province are now being told to leave their homes, many for the second time.