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Fire crews battled wildland fire north of Estevan on the weekend

Estevan Fire Rescue Service (EFRS) members responded to a complicated wildland fire in the middle of the Easter long weekend. The call for service came in on Saturday at about 2:30 p.m.
fire truck, fire

Estevan Fire Rescue ServiceĀ  (EFRS) members responded to a complicated wildland fire in the middle of the Easter long weekend.

The call for service came in on Saturday at about 2:30 p.m. The fire occurred immediately north of the city boundary, east of Highway 47.

"Crews did arrive on scene to find a fairly sizable wildland fire that was occurring. We had a lot of the landowners that were already in the area, trying to extinguish the fire with brooms and shovels," said Estevan Fire Chief Dale Feser.

Firefighters were informed that there were some oil wells on the property that were being threatened by the fire. The first arriving truck was assigned to fire suppression around the well sites.

The fire became even more complicated when the wind suddenly changed directions and the fire started threatening a home and a shop.

"The remaining crews that came into play were immediately put onto the south flank, or the leading edge of the fire to extinguish the fire, (and to prevent it) from trying to take out the properties that were in close proximity. The fire did burn fairly close to some of these, upwards of 20 feet to the actual property itself, but crews are able to suppress without incident or loss of property," Feser said.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire and no loss of property other than fence posts.

After the fire was brought under control, firefighters extinguished the remaining hotspots and wet down the perimeter.

The investigation showed that the fire was started by an amber that migrated from the neighbouring property, where a burn barrel was left unattended and without any cover. Wind gusts picked up some burning material, which quickly caught the dry vegetation on fire.

"Anytime you're using these types of appliances, it always has to be attended. You want to have some means of water to extinguish any fires before they start to get quite large and threaten any other neighbouring properties."

Feser praised the landowners for quick thinking and fast reaction.

"A huge thank you to the landowners who assisted in extinguishing the fire and placing that quick call to 911 so that we could get there in a timely manner to save any property from being damaged."