Manitoba residents, cottagers assess wildfire damage in Lac du Bonnet

Residents and cottagers are returning to an unrecognizable landscape in Lac du Bonnet, after a devastating wildfire tore through.

Many residents and cottagers in Lac du Bonnet, Man., are returning to the area to assess the damage and begin cleaning up the rubble, after a raging wildfire tore through the area two weeks ago.

The more than 4,000-hectare wildfire destroyed dozens of properties, scarred the landscape beyond recognition, and took the lives of two people who were unable to flee the flames.

The area is barely recognizable to Ron Burley, who has lived in Lac du Bonnet for the past nine years.

“It looks like a war zone,” Burley told Global News. “There were trees and it was lush, there was privacy. You couldn’t see the lake. It was kind of nice; now, everything is just burnt and you’re seeing hills of granite that I never knew were there.”

Burley’s home was spared from the wildfire, but it came close.

“I was told it was about another 20 minutes and our area would have been gone,” he said.

He says the loss of homes and cottages in the area has meant a tough and emotional time for many families.

“There’s history with those cottages,” Burley said. “Whether it’s five years, one year, or, in most of the cases with those cottages, it’s 40 years or longer. It’s not about it being a recreational property. It’s about people’s stories, their lives.”