WEYBURN - The Weyburn Fire Department was dispatched to reports of a wildland fire northwest of Weyburn yesterday, Oct. 12 at 3:20 p.m., near the community of McTaggart.
Near zero visibility was reported on arrival of incident command, which included a utility fire truck, tanker and command truck.
Due to heavy smoke and winds gust of up to 90 kph, additional mutual aid resources were dispatched from other fire departments to assist.
Incident command also requested additional resources of motor graders from the RM of Weyburn and the City of Weyburn to assist in cutting fire breaks in surrounding fields to the south and east.
The Weyburn Fire Department were also assisted by local farmers and property owners with heavy equipment to aid in containment and suppression of the fire.
SaskEnergy and SaskPower were requested to attend the scene to isolate and disconnect utilities to an impacted acreage.
Fire crews remained on the scene until 5 a.m. on Oct. 13, to protect a home in the area that had not been damaged and to ensure the fire did not reignite.
Initial estimate is the fire travelled approximately 6 km. Heavy winds are expected to continue into the next several days and Weyburn Fire Department will continue to monitor the scene.
The Weyburn Fire Department is extremely thankful for the assistance from surrounding fire departments, organizations and communities. The Department also appreciates the assistance offered by civilians and other organizations if more were required.
Investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing; initial assessments are a burn pit in the area. Early damage estimates exceed $600,000.
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The Weyburn Fire Department was dispatched to another wildland fire east of the city on Oct. 12 at 3:37 p.m. This call was passed onto mutual aid from another community, as all resources were currently being used at the original fire scene.
