Rain offers some help for crews battling deadly wildfires in eastern Manitoba

Katherine Dow has the latest on Manitoba’s wildfire situation, and if the rain in Manitoba is making an impact.

Rain is offering some help in the battle against forest fires in eastern Manitoba, but the effort is far from over.

Loren Schinkel, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, says rain has been steady since early this morning, and a section of one evacuated area was reopened Thursday night to permanent residents.

But Schinkel says the fire in the region is still burning.

The blaze destroyed 28 homes and cottages earlier this week, and Schinkel says crews worked hard to prevent it from reaching dozens of others.

A couple stranded by the fire, identified as Richard and Sue Nowell, were also killed.

The Manitoba Conservation Officers Association says one of the couple’s sons, Ryland Nowell, is a patrol captain with the service.

“Nowell had been assisting with the wildfires in Whiteshell Provincial Park in the days prior,” says a post on the association’s Facebook page.

It also says he helped last year with evacuations and protecting properties during the Cranberry Portage fire in northern Manitoba, “saving countless cottages and lives.”

An online fundraising effort for Ryland Nowell and his brother, who lived with their parents, has garnered more than $110,000.

Another 20 fires were also burning in the province and the Manitoba government has closed some provincial parks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.