Couple identified as Manitoba wildfire victims were 'friends and family members': Lac du Bonnet mayor
Sue and Richard Nowell died after being trapped by wildfire
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."
'It's close friends, it's neighbours'
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."
Karen Kost, executive director of Mrs. Lucci's Resource Centre in Lac du Bonnet, said the deaths have created "a profound sense of loss" in the community as a whole and particularly within the Lucci's family.
"She cultivated friendships and cared deeply for everyone she met. Sue was sensitive to a fault," Kost wrote in an email to CBC News.
Mrs. Lucci's is a community hub that sells donated clothing, housewares, furniture, and other items out of two location in support of not-for-profit community groups. It also offers outreach services and distributes gift cards from local grocery stores to families in need.
"Sue was instrumental in helping us develop Cafe Lucci, a place where adult services participants can gain work experience and community members can gather to share stories and have a homemade bowl of soup and dish of ice cream," Kost wrote.
"Sue worked many unpaid hours stressing over how to make the place successful. The regulars looked forward to her cooking, desserts and banter."
But Sue shone the brightest when asked about her three boys, Kost said.
"They were her passion, her protectors, the loves of her life."
One of those sons, Ryland, is a patrol captain with the Manitoba Conservation who helped people evacuate during a fire in another part of the province one year ago, according to the Manitoba Conservation Officers Association.
"Patrol Capt. Nowell played an integral role in value protection and evacuations during the 2024 Cranberry Portage wildfire saving countless cottages and lives," the MCOA posted on Facebook.
"The Manitoba Conservation Officers Association is grieving with its members."
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.
With files from Josh Crabb, Ilrick Duhamel and Darren Bernhardt