A wildfire, fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions, tore through the Wendigo Beach area near Lac du Bonnet last week.

The blaze consumed 4,000 hectares of land, destroying 28 structures and forcing the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people. Two area residents, Sue and Richard Nowell, died after becoming trapped by the blaze.

Free Press photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie visited the region on Friday, a day after residents were allowed to return.

All that remains is a charred wasteland.

Aftermath of an inferno In pictures: Wildfire destruction at Lac du Bonnet's Wendigo Beach By: Photography by Mikaela MacKenzie Posted:

wfpvideo:5S8IcsqJ:wfpvideo

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/05/2025 (491 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Mikaela MacKenzie

Mikaela MacKenzie
Photojournalist

Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist — photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world.

   Read full biography

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Related Articles

'Under a microscope': Cottagers call for wildfire management plans after fatal fires
This handout photo from Lianne Ross-Martin shows what was left of her cottage in the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, Man., on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, after a wildfire destroyed homes on Wendigo Road, including Ross-Martin's. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Lianne Ross-Martin **MANDATORY CREDIT**
Lac du Bonnet cottagers get first look at damage caused by wildfire
SUPPLIED Liane Ross-Martin said her family’s cottage was one of 18 properties that were destroyed by a wildfire in the Wendigo Beach area of the RM of Lac du Bonnet on May 13.
Nopiming blaze destroys family cabin a second time
David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press files A wildfire northeast of Lac du Bonnet is now under control, the RM of Lac du Bonnet said Tuesday.
Wildfire’s aftermath greets returning evacuees
(Submitted) JoAnneHirst next to a charred tree on a piece of property she rents out along Wendigo Road.
Some Lac Du Bonnet residents allowed to return home after wildfire
Destruction on Wendigo Road Sunday after a wildfire ripped through the area starting last Tuesday. (Submitted/Manitoba Hydro)
On the front lines of the wildfire battle
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Emergency coordinator John Fleming at the command centre, where all of the emergency response coordination is taking place, in Lac du Bonnet on Friday, May 16, 2025. For Scott Billeck story. Winnipeg Free Press 2025
Boaters reminded water bombers have right of way
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES A water bomber flies over a property in Lac du Bonnet on May 19.
Costs and impacts of last year’s ‘lost summer’ due to historic wildfires continue to reverberate across the province
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Between May and August, fires tore through 2.3 million hectares of Manitoba.
Lac du Bonnet slowly healing from devastating fire
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS A highway sign that goes over the Winnipeg River near Lac du Bonnet, named after Susan and Richard Nowell the couple that died in the 2025 wildfires. Returning to the Lac du Bonnet area where wildfires turned lives upside down, caused the deaths of two homeowners and displaced thousands of people fifteen months ago. Reporter: Nicole Buffie 260807 - Friday, August 07, 2026.
Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES Viv Ketchum, Indigenous ambassador for Impact Security at the 295 Portage Ave. Dollarama, helped the victim before emergency personnel arrived.

Portage Avenue stabbing victim staggered into nearby store for help

Morgan Modjeski and Malak Abas 4 minute read Preview

Portage Avenue stabbing victim staggered into nearby store for help

Morgan Modjeski and Malak Abas 4 minute read Updated: 5:09 PM CDT

A 46-year-old man stabbed on Portage Avenue Wednesday afternoon is in hospital after staggering, bloodied, into a nearby dollar store.

Police said the man was confronted by several people on the 300 block of Portage shortly before 6 p.m. and was stabbed with an unknown weapon. He was helped by people inside the store until police and paramedics arrived.

The man was rushed to hospital in unstable condition but was later upgraded to stable, the Winnipeg Police Service said.

WPS Const. Claude Chancy said Friday that police were still attempting to speak with the victim, and it was not yet clear if the attack was random. No arrests have been made.

Read
Updated: 5:09 PM CDT
Daniel Crump / FREE PRESS FILES The St. Paul’s Crusaders have grown into a perennial powerhouse, capturing the ANAVETS Bowl four times between 2009-2013 on top of winning the provincial championship in the top division 13 times, most recently in 2022.

Crusaders football celebrates 95th anniversary

Joshua Frey-Sam 4 minute read Preview

Crusaders football celebrates 95th anniversary

Joshua Frey-Sam 4 minute read 5:41 PM CDT

Few understand better than Stacy Dainard how steeped the St. Paul’s High School football program is in history.

The head coach of the Crusaders’ varsity team for the last 25 years has watched the institution’s presence on the gridiron blossom over four decades since he donned the maroon and white as a player from 1984-87.

Dainard figures he will harken back to those days more this weekend when a flock of Crusaders alumni from across the country gather to commemorate the football program’s 95th anniversary.

“We were a competitive team. We had some very committed coaches and some very committed student-athletes,” said Dainard, who reached the provincial championship in each of his first three seasons as a student-athlete. “It was a good time. Football wasn’t as big as it is now, or at least high school football wasn’t as big as it is now. But it was a very competitive league.”

Read
5:41 PM CDT
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/John Woods

Court hears woman’s statement detailing pain, trauma after boyfriend shot her in the face

Dean Pritchard 6 minute read Preview

Court hears woman’s statement detailing pain, trauma after boyfriend shot her in the face

Dean Pritchard 6 minute read Yesterday at 5:29 PM CDT

A.W. thought she had found love with Machuor Akau.

That was before Akau put a loaded Luger handgun to the 26-year-old woman’s head last November and told her he should “kill her now.”

Akau shot her, shattering her jaw and embedding teeth in the bones of her mouth and leaving her fighting for her life.

Now A.W. wakes up every morning in pain and sees the scars on her face and neck.

Read
Yesterday at 5:29 PM CDT
SUPPLIED To get to the first tee at Phantom Course Golf Club, golfers have to climb a series of stairs above the golf cart garages. Once up on the cliff face, you overlook two fairways deep in a valley.

Flop wedge needed at Phantom Lake Golf Club

Ryan Desjarlais 5 minute read Preview

Flop wedge needed at Phantom Lake Golf Club

Ryan Desjarlais 5 minute read 5:57 PM CDT

In a remote land of spruce, ptarmigan and rock, Flintabbatey Flonatin — an adventurer exploring the depths of Phantom Lake with his little submarine — discovered an underwater treasure trove of minerals. Once word spread among the prospecting community, the miners came, and the head frame of Flin Flon was born.

Now, that’s not exactly how The Sunless City novel reads, and Phantom Lake is actually in Saskatchewan, but my re-interpretation connects the dots enough to introducing Flin Flon’s links.

Phantom Lake Golf Club does not technically reside in Flin Flon, but rather in its twin community, Creighton, Sask. Indeed, as soon as you cross the border, you immediately turn south for a couple of clicks to the shores of Phantom Lake.

The very old river-stone clubhouse is up the hill from the parking lot. Folks with movement challenges might want to send the young bucks ahead to get the rental cart and bring it back to the parking lot to collect you and your sticks.

Read
5:57 PM CDT
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Cordella Friesen, president and CEO at the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, gave the keynote address at the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Delta hotel Friday afternoon.

Chamber hears about the business of belonging

Aaron Epp 4 minute read Preview

Chamber hears about the business of belonging

Aaron Epp 4 minute read 5:47 PM CDT

Members of the city’s business community were encouraged to emulate Dolly Parton, the recently deceased country singer known for her upbeat attitude and philanthropic efforts, at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday afternoon.

“(The message of) this whole speech is basically, ‘Be like Dolly,’” said Cordella Friesen, president and CEO at the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, noting that some communities celebrate Dolly Parton Day on Sept. 25 (9/25) — a reference to the singer’s hit movie and song, 9 to 5.

The lighthearted remarks kicked off Friesen’s keynote address in front of around 400 business executives at the Delta hotel.

Friesen spoke about her belief in radical optimism, which she defined as “the disciplined conviction, grounded in evidence, that any problem can be solved when moral courage is expressed through action.”

Read
5:47 PM CDT

Around city hall

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read 5:58 PM CDT

Sewage contract approved

The City of Winnipeg will award a $115-million contract toward the final phase of the North End sewage treatment plant upgrade, without waiting for the federal government to help fund the work.

On Thursday, city council waived a condition that funding agreements be finalized with the provincial and federal governments for the mega-project before awarding the development phase agreement contract.

The third and final nutrient removal facilities phase of the upgrade is expected to cost $1.57 billion, bringing the total cost of the entire upgrade to $3.1 billion.