Martensville firefighters prevented a wildfire from damaging a residence on an acreage west of Martensville on Tuesday, August 18.
Martensville Fire Department (MFD) Captain Norm Hydamacka said firefighters were dispatched at about 5:00 pm to a grassfire on the north side of Lutheran Road about half a mile west of Highway 12.
“There was a lot of smoke initially,” said Hydamacka in an interview on August 19. “It looked pretty bad.
“Fortunately, there was not a lot of wind at the time. If there had been a breeze, it would have been a different story.”
Hydamacka said 13 firefighters and four vehicles responded to the call. The large turnout of members allowed them to bring the fire under control quickly.
“The fire was threatening a house,” said Hydamacka. “That became our immediate priority.”
Hydamacka said the firefighters brought the fire under control in a matter of minutes. They blaze had started in an open, grassy area near a powerline and was beginning to spread into some bush. MFD members were able to prevent it from heading east toward the house.
Hydamacka said the cause of the fire is currently under investigation; however, it appeared to be accidental.
“One possibility is it might have been started from a spark from a power pole transformer,” said Hydamacka. “We had some power outages yesterday in that area. SaskPower workers have been out to investigate.”
Hydamacka said the bulk of the hotspots were taken care of by 6:00 pm., but a crew remained on scene to ensure there was nothing left smouldering for another two hours after that.
Hydamacka said the 35 degree heat at the time of the fire made it challenging for firefighters. Fortunately, he added, the department had recently obtained new “lighter and better” wildland firefighting turnout gear.
“It made a bit difference,” said Hydamacka.