Belair wildfire under control, Camperville blaze ‘tapering off’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/10/2017 (2353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Local and provincial firefighters battled at least five major blazes in the southern half of Manitoba on Wednesday.
However, at least two potentially dangerous wildfires fanned by winds gusting up to 80 km/h were reporting happy endings by late Wednesday afternoon.
In Belair Provincial Forest, fire charred about 15 acres of forest before crews brought it under control.
“It’s basically a matter of putting out hot spots and embers now,” said Mark Sinclair, chief of the East Beaches Fire and Rescue, late Wednesday afternoon. “Considering the winds we had, everything worked out really well.”
On the west side of the province, fire threatened the town of Camperville, on the southwest shore of Lake Winnipegosis, all day Wednesday.
“It looks like it’s tapering off,” said an official at the town office, who was interviewed late Wednesday afternoon. However, the strong winds made everyone cautious about declaring victory too soon.
Grass fires were fought near Amaranth, near Langruth, which caused the closure of Highway 50 in the area, and in Peguis First Nation, a Manitoba Sustainable Development spokesman said.
The Amaranth Fire Department fought the Amaranth fire, while several local fire departments teamed up for the one near Langruth and were assisted by provincial water bombers. A helicopter, dropping buckets of water, supported the local department at Peguis.
The Belair fire, about a kilometre east of Highway 59 and 90 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, was reported by a passerby shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday.
Sinclair said the fire was crowning, meaning it was blazing along treetops, between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m.
However, it dropped from the treetops on its own, to the status of ground fire, which is easier to contain, he said.
“We feel quite fortunate,” Sinclair said.
He said wind speeds that reached 80 km/h were only about half as strong early in the morning.
“We were fortunate to be able to get it under control before the winds picked up.”
The province sent water bombers to the site, but decided not to use them unless the fire starts crowning again. Instead, it used a helicopter to douse the fire because they can drop water more accurately.
“I can hear the helicopters overhead here in Pine Falls,” said Raymond Garand, reeve for the regional municipality of Alexander, just before noon on Wednesday.
Garand said the fire was moving southeast, pushed by the northwesterly winds. That meant flames were moving away from the communities and cottage developments, he said.
Sinclair and Garand said communities and cottage developments were never in danger. Garand said the fire only destroyed Crown land.
Thirteen members from East Beaches Fire and Rescue battled the fire, in addition to provincial firefighters and the Victoria Beach Fire Department.
Meanwhile, efforts to put out the fire near Camperville were hindered by a power failure that affected both that town and nearby Pine Creek. The power went out Tuesday night and was still not restored by Wednesday afternoon, one Camperville resident said.
bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
History
Updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 12:05 PM CDT: Fire under control.
Updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2017 10:31 PM CDT: Adds photos