Couple identified as Manitoba wildfire victims were 'friends and family members': Lac du Bonnet mayor
CBC
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, Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives 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:
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.
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