Under a microscope: Cottagers call for wildfire management plans after fatal fires – Winnipeg [Video]

Cottage owners and disaster prevention experts in Manitoba are urging governments to develop comprehensive wildfire management plans after a pair of devastating wildfires.

Close to 1,000 people were forced from their homes last week as a wildfire near the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, spurred by dry, hot and windy conditions, burned nearby.

The quick-moving fire, which is currently being held, destroyed 28 homes and cottages and left two people dead.

“The whole emergency plan for every municipality should be under a microscope review right now,” said Brad Wood, a Winnipeg firefighter whose cottage was destroyed.

Wood was one of several residents allowed to return Wednesday to assess the damage. His cottage was among 18 homes destroyed on Wendigo Road. Rubbles of black, charred materials and singed trees overtook what used to be lush, green vegetation.

“I’ve never seen fire devastation at that level,” Wood said.

When Lianne Ross-Martin …