Grass fire burns near rail yard off Plessis Road in Winnipeg
Canadian National Railway employee reports blaze near Symington Yards; fire not believed to be linked to rail
Hydro poles and an area of grass and brush 90 metres wide burned off Plessis Road early Tuesday morning, the City of Winnipeg says.
A Canadian National Railway employee spotted the blaze near the Symington Yards, the city said. The yards stretch west from Plessis, south to Fermor Avenue and north along Lagimodiere Boulevard.
Fire crews responded just after 12 a.m. They initially couldn't reach the site with fire trucks but used a drone to get a sense of the spread of the fire from above. They determined the fire was 90 metres in width, almost the length of a CFL football field.
Crews set up a fire break and put out parts of the fire using specialized wildfire-urban firefighting equipment.
The city said apart from a few hydro poles, no buildings were damaged and no one was hurt.
The cause of the fire isn't believed to be linked to nearby rail activity, the city said, as the nearest track was about one kilometre from the site of the fire.
The incident comes after a dry May long weekend that saw wildfires threaten a ranch near Falcon Beach in eastern Manitoba.
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