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Lightning-sparked fire near Macklin spreads to bales, oil site blaze follows

A lightning strike sparked a large grass fire near Macklin Tuesday evening, followed by a second blaze at a nearby oil facility hours later.

MACKLIN — Fire crews from Macklin and District Fire Rescue and neighbouring departments were kept busy Tuesday night battling two significant blazes — one caused by lightning, the other at an oil site.

The Macklin fire department was dispatched at 6:49 p.m. to a large brush and grass fire involving bales, accordong to the post on their social media. The fire was believed to have been sparked by a lightning strike. With help from the Luseland Fire Department and the landowner, crews managed to contain the blaze.

As Macklin crews were wrapping up the scene at around 9:20 p.m., a second call came in — this time for mutual aid from the Provost Fire Department in Alberta. Firefighters were needed to help tackle a large fire at an oil facility west of Macklin.

All responding units were back in service by 12:46 a.m. Wednesday morning, the department said.

Officials have not reported any injuries, and damage assessments are still underway.

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