‘A lot of memories’: Manitoba community reflects one year after wildfire destroyed several properties

Alex Karpa speaks with members of the Lac du Bonnet, Man., community as they continue to deal with the fallout from a deadly wildfire a year earlier.

LAC DU BONNET Man. – Shane Robinson still remembers the moment he saw his property in shambles after a wildfire tore through a small community in Manitoba’s Lac du Bonnet region.

It’s a moment he says is still fresh in his mind.

“We could see that there was nothing left,” he said.

Robinson’s grandfather built the family cottage in 1967 on Wendigo Road, about 87 kilometres east of Winnipeg.

He says he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw his property in nothing but rubble and debris.

“I actually came out here by boat the night of the fire,” he said. “The first thing we noticed was there were no boathouses.”

One year later, grass and mud cover what remains on his property, but Robinson is looking forward to the future.

He is planning on rebuilding the family cottage.

“We’ve got the guy coming to do the foundation, and then he will be rebuilding the cottage,” he said. “It’s on track to be rebuilt by next winter.”

There has been a lot of construction since the wildfire ripped through the community last year.

About half a dozen homes are either in the process of being rebuilt or are now fully rebuilt.

A year after losing her home in the fire, Lavina Harding has rebuilt and is now living on Wendigo Road full-time.

“I see new hope, and I think that the rest of the way will be a little easier than what I did go through in this past year,” she said.

Harding plans to rebuild her deck, and get landscaping done on her property, but says she’s happy to be able to live at home once again.

A day of remembrance

The wildfire destroyed 28 properties, and forced more than 1,100 people to evacuate, making it one of the worst wildfires in Lac du Bonnet’s history.

The fire tragically claimed the lives of Sue and Richard Nowell.

The couple died on May 13, 2025, after they became trapped on their property on Wendigo Road by the wildfire.

A bridge in the community has since been renamed in their honour.

Loren Schinkel says he can’t believe it’s already been one year since the tragedy.

“It seems like it just happened yesterday,” said Schinkel, who is the Reeve for the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet.

“We lowered our flags today to half-mast in remembrance of what our region and what their family, friends and sons lost as well.”

Manitoba saw 445 wildfires burn more than 2.38 million hectares of land, which resulted in well over 30,000 people being evacuated from their homes.

Manitoba declared two states of emergencies during the summer months and requested support from the federal government.

Preparing for future fire season

Earl Simmons says the community of Lac du Bonnet learned a lot from the wildfires last year.

The fire hall purchased a new side-by-side ATV vehicle that will allow firefighters to get better access into the back country when fighting fires.

Simmons, who is the fire chief at the local fire hall, says they have undergone a lot of wildland firefighter training, learned to fight fire with fire, and have installed numerous sprinklers.

But he says this is only part of the equation, emphasizing there is more that needs to be done.

“Fire smart is a big component we need to move into and the Lac du Bonnet area, the town and the RM (rural municipality) has embarked on a study of the RM to do a wildfire assessment, to risk assessment, to see what we can do going forward, to reduce that risk,” he said.

“We’re working with our community and working with the municipal emergency coordinator to plan for those things.”

Shane Robinson says he’s doing everything he can to make sure his family never has to endure a tragedy like last year’s wildfire again.

As he looks ahead in preparations for his rebuild, he says fire prevention will be a major focus when his new cottage is built.

“I’m going to put sprinklers on top of my cottage. I’ll make sure the grass is green, the trees are all cut back. There was quite a bit of rock, so I was surprised that we kind of got burnt as bad as we did,” he said.