Order of the Buffalo Hunt conferred on teams that fought wildfires

One of Manitoba’s highest honours, the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, has been bestowed upon a long list of groups that battled the flames during the worst wildfire season in decades.

“The 2025 season reminded us once again of the courage and professionalism of Manitoba’s wildfire service and emergency management teams,” said Premier Wab Kinew at Thursday’s ceremony.

Recipient Loren Schinkel plans to hang his award in the RM of Lac du Bonnet municipal office to recognize staff who fought together.

“I might have been the pointy part of the spear, but it wasn’t just me that dealt with the horrific event in our community. It was everyone,” Schinkel, the reeve of the municipality, said at the legislature.

Schinkel was one of hundreds of civil servants, first responders and other personnel who received the order in recognition of their efforts.

The order invested 95 municipal governments, First Nations, non-profit organizations, volunteer fire departments and various other organizations that aided in the months-long battle.

The reeve said he shares the award with everyone who works and volunteers for the municipality, along with residents and the family of the couple who died in the blaze.

Ceremony officials held a moment of silence for Richard and Sue Nowell, two Lac du Bonnet residents who died in a wildfire on May 13. Dozens of homes were razed by the flames and families are still working to rebuild after the blaze burned more than 4,000 hectares.

“It would have been so much worse if it wouldn’t have been for the commitment of the people and our residents that pulled together so dramatically,” said Schinkel.

Kinew presented Kristin Hayward, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Wildfire Service and Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister for the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, with the Order on behalf of the personnel.

Stevens dedicated the award to the Nowells.

“Their memory reminds us of the profound stakes of this work, and the courage and humanity that guide us forward,” she said.

The fire in Lac du Bonnet was one of the first major fires to hit Manitoba throughout the spring and summer. In all, wildfires across Manitoba burned more than two million hectares of land this year. The blazes prompted two provincial states of emergency, 43 local states of emergency and 59 evacuation orders. The fires forced nearly 33,000 Manitobans from their homes.

Last month, the province said the cost associated with the fire fight had hit $180 million, and the bills haven’t stopped coming in yet.

Crews from across the country and world who helped aid in the fight, businesses and volunteers, social services, health workers, as well as cultural support workers received a nod during Steven’s speech.

“They all worked shoulder to shoulder. It was not many separate efforts, it was one big one,” she said.

Kinew thanked the “room full of heroes” during his remarks.

“We asked a lot of these folks,” Kinew said. “Today is a small way, as a province, that we can say thank you. So, thank you.”

The order was established in 1957 and recognizes people who make outstanding contributions in areas such as community service and leadership.

The premier recently conferred the Order of the Buffalo Hunt upon first responders who raced to a Brandon school after a student used a sword to attack another teen.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca