Lac du Bonnet residents see signs of hope after devastating wildfires
Residents in a Manitoba community devastated by wildfire earlier this year say they are starting to see glimmers of hope as residents return to their properties, and some hope to rebuild.
Two people were killed and more than two dozen residences were destroyed this spring in the R.M. of Lac du Bonnet, due to a wildfire that ripped through the area in May.
Resident Erin Banville says she and her husband escaped the May wildfire in their RV, but the couple's home on Wendigo Road, which they've owned for around twenty years and had lived in permanently for five, burned to the ground.
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Banville says they lost nearly everything in the fire including cherished family photos, and antiques her husband collected.
Despite the devastation, Banville now says residents are starting to see signs of growth and rebuilding, which is giving some a sense of optimism after the destruction.
"It's nice to see growth," she said. "It's nice to see people spending more time here, rebuilding."
Over the last approximately three months since the fire, residents in the area have been working to clean up the charred mess left behind from the blaze, according to Banville.
She added heavy equipment was needed to move away some of the larger debris, but a lot of the work was done by hand by residents, as well as by volunteers from Ontario-based group Christian Aid Ministries, who came to the community after the fire to help.
An image taken by volunteers with Ontario-based Christian Aid Ministries shows some of the devastation left in the wake of a May wildfire that destroyed more than two dozen structures in the Lac du Bonnet area. (Christian Aid Ministries)
"You come here and now you see a little glimmer of hope," Banville said. "It's turning green. It wasn't green before this. As you remember it was very dark, so this at least allows people the chance to see the future."
In all, 28 properties were destroyed in the area this past May in the fire that also claimed the lives of residents Sue and Rich Nowell.
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Banville says her and her husband have still not decided if they will rebuild their home on the same property, but hope that rebuilding will be an option.
"I'm tired of looking at it sadly," she said about her property. "So you have to go forward."
"We are going to take some more time to figure all of that out. I'd still like to think we're going to rebuild."
Laverne Martin, one of the volunteers with Christian Aid Ministries who spent time in Lac du Bonnet working on clean up and recovery efforts, said although the damage was devastating, the volunteers did enjoy spending time and getting to know people in the area.
"We enjoyed our time there, and getting into a different community and getting to know different people," Martin said. "Of course you don't like the disaster that happened, but yeah, the friendships that were built there, I really enjoy that aspect of it."
Lac du Bonnet resident Brad Wood says he had just finished building his home on Wendigo Road before it was destroyed in the fire, and had planned on moving into the home full-time before it burned to the ground.
Lac du Bonnet resident Brad Wood stands on the property where his home once stood before being destroyed by a wildfire that ripped through the area in May. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC)
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Wood also hopes to rebuild, but said he will need some time before making a decision on whether that is possible, citing both "financial" and "emotional" considerations that will go into his final decision.
But Wood said he's happy to see some cleaning up and rebuilding in the area, and is optimistic the community can be completely rebuilt over time.
"The community can rebuild," Wood said. "It's promising."
This article, originally published by CBC News on August 26, 2025, with files from Josh Crabb.