Man, woman found dead as crews battle wildfire in Manitoba, police say

Article content

WINNIPEG — RCMP say the bodies of two people have been found as crews battle a wildfire in a popular lakefront cottage area northeast of Winnipeg. 

They say the bodies are believed to be of a man and woman, and that it may take days to confirm their identities. 

“This is a truly tragic event,” said Loren Schinkel, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet. 

“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.” 

About 1,000 people have been ordered to leave the area as fires Wednesday continued to burn in eastern Manitoba. 

Police said they received reports Tuesday that some residents were stranded due to the quickly spreading fire, but were unable to get to the site because of the conditions. On Wednesday morning, police were able to go to an area just off Wendigo Road and found the two bodies. 

“We were able to confirm our worst fears,” Supt. Chris Hastie told a news conference. 

Police said they had no additional reports of people unaccounted for. 

Some structures have been lost, but a damage assessment has yet to be done. 

The blaze near Lac du Bonnet remained out of control Wednesday, covering roughly 30 square kilometres. Nearby, a second out-of-control fire near Nopiming Provincial Park covered 1,000 square kilometres. 

Crews had not been able to respond to that fire because of “extremely volatile fire behaviour,” making it unsafe, said Kristin Hayward with the Manitoba Wildfire Service. 

Days of hot, dry and windy conditions have fed fires in and around provincial parks in eastern Manitoba. Mandatory evacuation orders were put in effect, and many hiking trails, resorts and other amenities were off-limits. 

The Manitoba government said there are 24 active fires, six of which are of concern. The province said it would close the Whiteshell Provincial Park as of Thursday due to changing weather conditions.