Multiple commercial buildings have suffered significant damage after a large, fast-moving grass fire swept through an industrial area in North Transcona on Monday afternoon.
Fire crews in Winnipeg and the rural municipality of Springfield responded to the fire on Gunn Road around 2 p.m. and evacuated all occupied businesses in the area as a precautionary measure, said Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.
The fire has since been contained and does not pose a further risk to other commercial buildings or residential areas.
“Due to wind conditions, it took crews a substantial amount of time to get the fire under control,” Wilkinson said during a news conference in the area.
Winnipeg police cruisers remain at the site to block off the area on Gunn Road from Day to Redonda streets until fire crews finish extinguishing the fire, he said.
The cause of the grass fire remains unknown at this time, but crews continue to investigate and no injuries have been reported.
“There was a lot of explosions going on,” Wilkinson said.
“Crews did a great job despite wind and heat conditions to [keep] it from going beyond Gunn Road into the RM of Springfield and north, and preventing it from extending further than it already has.”
The fire department does not have further details about the fire, he said.
A large cloud of thick smoke could be seen billowing from the area after 3 p.m.
Carol Barry, who works at Sandvik Mining close to where the fire started, said staff at the manufacturer were sent home following concerns about whether the fire was a result of a “chemical issue.”
Barry said she noticed the black smoke as she was working from her office desk, paired with hearing a loud bang and smaller sounds she described as “popping” coming from the fire.
She said she didn’t think the fire would impact Sandvik Mining.
Murray Rougeau, retired district chief with the WFPS, was biking near the area shortly after the fire started. Rougeau said he saw about seven water pumpers on site. He said firefighters appeared to be trying to prevent a chemical plant in the area from going up in flames and “have their hands full.”
“They have water, it’s just with this wind and everything, it makes it very difficult to contain,” he said.
Manitoba Hydro said in a social media post on X that it had cut power to approximately 1,000 customers in the area to ensure firefighters can safely put out the flames. As of 4 p.m., power had been restored to all but 10 customers through an alternate power supply.
School bus routes within the River East Transcona School Division were also affected as a result of road closures, the division posted on X Monday afternoon.
Last week, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service issued a fire ban for the city, due to a stretch of hot, windy conditions. Temperatures in the 30s are forecast for Monday through Wednesday before rain and cooler weather is expected to close out the week.
The fire ban is in effect until 6 p.m. May 19, and anyone breaking it could get a $500 fine.
