There was a lot of smoke, but fortunately that was about as bad as it got when a major grassfire erupted south of the Highway 16 bypass in North Battleford Sunday afternoon.
The massive fire produced thick black smoke visible right across the city. The smoke blanketed the highway bypass during the late afternoon.
The blaze also threatened nearby Spence Equipment. Fortunately, a major effort by fire crews was successful. The North Battleford Fire Department reports there were no injuries and no damage to the surrounding structures.
According to the fire department the call came in to 911 around 3:25 p.m. The fire was reported south of Ravine Road and east of Poundmaker Trail, south of the Super 8 Hotel.
According to Deputy Chief Kevin Steinborn, the fire quickly spread north and east.
By 5 p.m., fire crews were set up behind the hotels while the other crews attacked the fire on the east side.
The Battleford Fire Department was called in to assist.
Spence Equipment used one of their CATS to make the fire break ahead of the fire line, said Steinborn. As well, TNM Concrete provided two of their trucks filled with water.
It was a tense situation due to the high winds and dry conditions that afternoon.
"It got scary a few times," Steinborn said. "In the area where we had staged, there was a lot of green grass so we thought we were going to be okay, but when the wind picked up and changed direction, we ended up having to pull out our crews and move equipment because the fire was rapidly coming up to the northeast where we were situated."
Black smoke filled the sky in the area around 4:30 p.m. due to a pile of tires igniting near the Spence Equipment site. There were other tires and debris outside that area as well.
There were some challenges in getting water to the area, but the North Battleford and Battleford fire departments used their tanker trucks to shuttle water to two pumpers staged behind the hotels.
Once the CAT was brought in to break the fire, fire crews were able to contain the blaze and work on the hot spots for the remainder of the afternoon and evening, Steinborn said.
The fire appeared to be well under control by about 5:30 p.m. Firefighters were on scene for four hours.
The fire department is grateful for all the assistance they received and credit that help for being able to get the situation under control before it got any worse.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
