Rain offers some help for crews battling deadly wildfires in eastern Manitoba [Video]

Rain is offering some help in the battle against forest fires in eastern Manitoba, but the effort is far from over.

Loren Schinkel, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, says rain has been steady since early this morning, and a section of one evacuated area was reopened Thursday night to permanent residents.

But Schinkel says the fire in the region is still burning.

The blaze destroyed 28 homes and cottages earlier this week, and Schinkel says crews worked hard to prevent it from reaching dozens of others.

A couple stranded by the fire, identified as Richard and Sue Nowell, were also killed.

The Manitoba Conservation Officers Association says one of the couple’s sons, Ryland Nowell, is a patrol captain with the service.

“Nowell had been assisting with the wildfires in Whiteshell Provincial Park in the days prior,” says a post on the association’s Facebook page.

It also …