A grass fire in southern Saskatchewan destroyed three homes on Monday evening.
About 20 volunteer firefighters from the Silton Fire Department arrived at the grass fire in Kannata Valley at around 4:30 p.m. The fire spread roughly eight kilometers long and destroyed three homes in its path. Fire crews said that the dry conditions and wind aided the fire, contributing to its size.
Silton Valley volunteer fire Chief Steve Wallace spoke with Global News Morning on Tuesday, while continuing to address the fire.
“It spread out all the resources. Silton, we’re very fortunate we have a good mutual aid agreements. We had Strasburg, Earl Grey, Lumsden, Regina Beach all came out to help,” Wallace said. “Without those guys helping us it was just so much to have to take and deal with.”
“It was a tragedy for the people that lost their homes, but it could have been far, far worse,” Wallace added.
Fire crews were able to get the grass fire under control but continue to monitor a few hot spots Tuesday morning.
There were no reported injuries from the fire.
With the fire under control, the investigation will begin. Wallace said they will start at the railway tracks, as he believes that may have been where the fire started.
While the area is as dry as it is, Wallace is encouraging residents and visitors to avoid doing anything with a live fire. This includes camp fires, but Wallace said propane barbecues are okay.
“We live in a resort area, Silton covers a lot of resort areas, so in the village of Silton you’ll get people saying you’re just trying to take away our fun because there is a fire ban in Silton village, Kannata Valley and Sask Beach,” Wallace said.
“People think we’re doing it so they can’t have fun. Well, as they can see from yesterday we weren’t having a lot of fun.”
So far this fire season, the Environment Ministry reports 94 fires on Crown land with 880 hectares burnt. The five year average for this time of year is 54 fires, but the ministry said it is not uncommon for May to be one of the busiest months for wildfires.
With files from Sarah Komadina