A man now living near St. Adolphe is trying to put the pieces of his dreams and life back together, after losing his home in the Nopiming Wildfire.
Trevor Paradis, 41, says he was working in northern Manitoba when he was told that his home was a total loss. A GoFundMe has been started to help him restart.
"I'm still kind of shocked about it. I don't know. It's a weird feeling to know you just lost everything," he says.
Paradis says he was set up just north of Shoe Lake.
It was a place he planned on retiring, kept all the things he loved, and that made up his livelihood. That includes fishing and hunting equipment, off-road vehicles, family artifacts and more—not to mention the memories and dreams attached to it.
"I grew up out there with my grandfather, and everything that he left to me was also out there," Paradis says. "I was actually going to upgrade and build a true log cabin... I was already two years into that."
"It's a lot of years to work, get to the place where you're finally almost able to just kick back and do your thing, and now I have to redo every single thing again," he says.
He thought he might rebuild, he says, but his job has taken him to the area replacing hydro poles damaged by the wildfire.
Seeing the carnage, it's hard to say what he will do next.
"Towards where my place was, you can see miles of the bush just dead. Standing trees, effortlessly pushed over. I don't know if it's worth rebuilding—everything's gone," he says. "It's hard to wrap your head around it and put it into words. It's just sad."
Paradis says it's hard to know how the community can best support him, and others that may be in a similar position. Nonetheless he encourages them to show support in what ways they can.
Personally, he says he has friends in the southeast who have been offering him places to live for the one week a month he's not working, and a mom in St. Adolphe that is continually ready to help him however she can.
"They're always there. I've got good friends," he says, and adds he's trying to stay optimistic though some days are certainly difficult.
He’s confident he can start over, even without insurance—though he now advises others not to take that risk, and to prioritize getting coverage, no matter how expensive it may seem.
"It's hard after 40 to do it, but I'll succeed." he says. "Maybe it's a new start. Who knows?"
Manitoba's Wildfire Map shows the fire in Nopiming Provincial Park is still out of control, covering more than 124,000 hectares.
