The man and woman who died after they were trapped by a wildfire at a family home in the rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet were Sue and Richard Nowell, a member of the Manitoba Legislature said Thursday.
The Nowells are the couple who died Tuesday as the out-of-control wildfire spread across the area, said La Verendrye MLA Konrad Narth and an online fundraiser set up in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Flags at the Manitoba Legislature were lowered half-mast to honour the couple Thursday morning.
RCMP announced Wednesday afternoon that they’d recovered the bodies of a man and a woman that morning.
Police said they’d previously received reports a couple was trapped in the area, but first responders couldn’t get to them due to the extreme conditions caused by the fire.
“My heart truly goes out to the families of Sue and Richie Nowell, who tragically lost their lives as a result of the Lac du Bonnet fire,” Narth said at the Manitoba Legislature Thursday afternoon.
“My thoughts are with their son, Emmett, and his girlfriend, who were able to escape injured, but safe.”
A GoFundMe said it was raising money to help Emmett and the couple’s other son, Ryland, cover essentials and immediate expenses.
WATCH | Lac du Bonnet mayor says his community is shaken by the wildfire deaths:
Lac du Bonnet ‘shaken’ by Manitoba wildfire deaths, says mayor
Ken Lodge, mayor of the town of Lac du Bonnet, which neighbours the rural municipality, said the deaths have shaken the entire community.
Lodge knew the Nowells.
“We are resilient and we will recover from this, but these are friends and family members, and residents of our community,” he said.
“We have a fairly large, broad-spread community here, but socially, we’re all very close — and it makes it very tough.”
Shane McCoy said he knew the couple for about 30 years.
He and his wife, Lydia, were among the estimated 800 to 1,000 people who were forced out from their homes and cottages in the rural municipality by the fire. They live just off Wendigo Road, near where RCMP say the Nowells were found.
“It’s close friends, it’s neighbours, and it’s terrible,” McCoy said. “It’s just so hard to believe.”
Eric Makela, who knew Sue Nowell, said the whole town has lost a friend.
“She was a lovely lady,” he said. “I didn’t know her husband, but I knew her. A lot of people are very sad about it.”
Loren Schinkel, reeve for the RM of Lac du Bonnet, said RCMP officers were still in the area as of Thursday morning, continuing their investigation into the couple’s death.
He said it was clear from the beginning the fire was serious, and that it was a tragedy the Nowells couldn’t get out.
“We’re a close-knit community here,” he said.
“They were a well-known family here in the area here, and at the end of the day, if there’s anything we can do for the family members, all they have to do is reach out to us. But simply our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
The Manitoba Wildfire Service said crews have made good progress fighting the fire, but the 4,000-hectare blaze is still out of control.
