'Heartbreaking' fire damage leaves Manitoba man at a loss

A Manitoba man has woken up every morning for the past three months to the reminder that his beautiful property no longer exists.

The fire that tore through 242 hectares of land in the RM of Piney this past May is having a lasting impact on Tim Milne, who says the blaze took out roughly 40,000 trees on his acreage.

The fire transformed what once was a private forest into a wasteland.

Milne, who lives in Kerry, commends the firefighters on scene for preventing all damage to his home itself, but says his yard’s barren appearance is still discouraging. Among the casualties are the "privacy trees" directly in front of his house and pine trees that were "over a century old."

Since the event, Milne has been trying to track down the individual who was charged for starting the fire to see if the two of them can sort out some kind of insurance payout. So far, though, his efforts have been unsuccessful.

Milne says he has spoken with both the Sprague RCMP and the Natural Resources Department and neither seems willing to give him the information he needs. While both entities have the name and contact details of the individual deemed responsible, Milne says he has been sent from one organization to the next without getting anywhere.

“I just want to contact the person and try to get some compensation for the damage,” he says. “To bulldoze the trees down, get rid of them, and replant them will cost about $50,000.”

Unable to afford the project on his own, Milne says he will continue searching for answers until he gets what he needs to restore his property. Right now though, he is at a loss.

“I don’t want money,” he stresses.

“I just want the trees planted again. It was my happy place. It’s why I initially bought the place, because it was beautiful. And now it’s not beautiful, it’s black, and it’s just heartbreaking.”