‘It gives me goosebumps’: Wendigo Road residents rebuilding after months of wildfire cleanup

CTV’s Joseph Bernacki returned to Lac du Bonnet to see how residents are picking up the pieces following wildfires this summer.

A Lac du Bonnet resident whose house was destroyed in a wildfire is now able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“It gives me goosebumps because May 13, I thought my world fell apart and now I see it coming back together slowly,” said Lavina Harding, a permanent resident of Wendigo Road in the R.M. of Lac du Bonnet.

Harding was one of several people who lived on the road when wildfires ripped through the area, burning 8,400 acres of land in the rural municipality.

Since CTV News Winnipeg spoke with her in June, her lot is now cleared and just in the last two weeks, foundation work began.

She’s hopeful a roof can be finished before the snow falls. “I’m looking to hope that Mother Nature cooperates, and we can get the rest of the foundation completed and then we can start the build for the actual house itself,” Harding said.

She said her seasonal neighbours are still working with insurance companies to start over. Loren Schinkel, Reeve for the R.M. of Lac du Bonnet, said the challenges due to this fire have made the community shine in a time of darkness.

“Well, it’s the resilience of the community,” Schinkel said. “You drive around the corner here and you see this devastation and it almost takes your breath away.”

Schinkel has spent weeks consulting with all levels of government to clean up the rural municipality. Drainage work and clearing of trees is set to continue in the weeks to come. A 1.3-kilometre stretch of Wendigo Road that was destroyed by the fire was rebuilt in July.

While the landscape is just beginning to heal, the community is gathering for a Hearts and Heroes Fundraising Social in September.

“It’s going to be a great evening of celebration,” Schinkel said. “All of the funds raised from that are going right back into our emergency services in the community.”

Lac du Bonnet Mayor Ken Lodge said the celebration set for Sept. 20 is one way to thank all of those who stepped up during the crisis.

“All too often, the folks that work for us in our communities like that do not get the recognition that they really need in a situation like this,” Lodge said.

“It really brought to the forefront how important those folks are, and this is the very least we can do to let them know how much we appreciate them.”

In the meantime, the rural municipality is already looking ahead at prevention. Schinkel said they are offering sprinkler kits for $165 a kit.

“There’s two sprinklers that clip on with the hoses, so if you’re involved in an evacuation, you can put those sprinklers up, turn your water systems on and leave your residence and they’ll protect your residence,” Schinkel said.

He said the rural municipality has also obtained smaller fire units with a tank and pump distributed within the Lac du Bonnet cottage associations to increase mobilization and preparedness for smaller fires.

Back on Wendigo Road, Harding said she’s looking forward to attending the fundraising social and watching her home come together.

“It’s all one day at a time and hoping that each aspect goes according to plan,” Harding said. Tickets for the Hearts and Heroes Fundraising Social are $20 and are available for purchase at the RM of Lac du Bonnet administrative office.