Manitobans killed in wildfire identified

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Community mourns couple killed in fire

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew calls ongoing forest fires ‘challenging’

The Manitobans who died tragically in a wildfire burning in the Lac du Bonnet area have been identified.

Multiple sources confirmed to CTV News Winnipeg Richard and Sue Nowell died after a wildfire broke out near their Wendigo area home.

RCMP Manitoba said Wednesday two people, believed to be an adult man and woman, had died in the blaze but declined to identify them Thursday pending an autopsy.

Mounties said Wednesday they were aware they were trapped in the fire, but emergency personnel could not reach them due to the extreme conditions.

“We’re a very close-knit community here, and certainly the family, friends, and loved ones that have been impacted by this have our profound sympathies at this news,” RM of Lac du Bonnet Reeve Loren Schinkel said Wednesday.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by a family friend to assist the Nowell family and help them with immediate expenses and essentials.

According to the fundraiser, the family’s home was also destroyed in the fire.

As of Thursday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised $26,000 of its $45,000 goal.

In-person donations can also be dropped off at Lake Life Powersports in Lac du Bonnet or at Warren Tire at 227 MacDonald Ave. in Warren, Man.

The wildfire is one of several burning out of control in the province, spurred by a mixture of oppressive heat and little rain.

The Lac du Bonnet fire has destroyed about 28 homes and cottages, Schinkel said Thursday.

The last update on the province’s fire map Wednesday estimated the fire to have reached 4,000 hectares.

- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre