Manitoba declares state of emergency in provincial park due to fires [Video]

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew declared a state of emergency Thursday to aid the evacuation of a provincial park due to wildfires, one day after the bodies of two people were found in the ashes.

Kinew did not provide details about the man and woman who died in the fire in the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, a popular lakefront cottage area northeast of Winnipeg.

But he said the deaths mean officials are taking the danger seriously and want additional powers to enforce evacuation orders.

An evacuation order issued for Whiteshell Provincial Park said people were to be out by Thursday afternoon. There are 239 permanent homes in the area.

“It doesn’t get more serious than loss of life, and in this case we lost two fellow Manitobans,” said Kinew, adding flags have been lowered to half-mast at the legislature.

“We’re heading into a long weekend that is going to …