Manitoba·New
An country successful eastbound Winnipeg that was swept up successful a fast-moving grassfire connected Monday is rife with industries and manufacturers, immoderate highly flammable, and determination mightiness not beryllium capable protections for them, a metropolis councillor says.
Russ Wyatt says concern country not protected enough, occurrence main successful RM of Springfield disagrees
CBC News
· Posted: May 13, 2025 1:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago
An country of eastbound Winnipeg that was swept up successful a grassfire connected Monday is a ticking clip bomb, according to Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona).
Dozens of vehicles successful an car retention yard off Gunn Road, which divides Winnipeg and the agrarian municipality of Springfield, were destroyed by flames fuelled by precocious winds and adust conditions.
The fire, which started astir 2 p.m., was contained around 5 p.m. but not before propane tanks successful the Oluspe Autos and Parts gait exploded, adjacent hydro transformers melted, and different businesses were damaged and evacuated.
The way of the blaze was marked Tuesday greeting by blackened fields and a post-apocalyptic-looking wide of burned-out cars.
Wyatt did not yet person implicit accusation connected the losses but said it was fortunate nary 1 was hurt.
The country has respective industries and manufacturing plants, immoderate utilizing highly flammable materials, that mightiness not beryllium adequately protected.
"We person a batch of, I conjecture you would astir telephone them ticking clip bombs," he told CBC Manitoba Information Radio big Marcy Markusa.
"[In] the RM of Springfield … they bash not person occurrence hydrants, they bash not person a full-time paid occurrence services, it's volunteer."
Directly crossed Gunn from the car gait — wrong the bound of the RM — is a works that produces a assortment of chemicals and fertilizers.
"It was crucial that the occurrence beryllium knocked down ASAP, and it was," Wyatt said. "It was rather a day."
He did not yet person implicit accusation connected the losses. The proprietor of Oluspe Autos and Parts did not privation to comment.
Brian Seaton, occurrence main successful the RM of Springfield, took objection with Wyatt's proposition that the municipality mightiness not person due extortion for the concern park.
He wanted it made wide the Springfield occurrence section was called to assistance metropolis crews, and h2o supplies that had been strategically acceptable up by Seaton were utilized to combat the fire.
When helium became main 3 years ago, Seaton said, helium approached respective businesses and established h2o supplies astatine the businesses "because I cognize that's our biggest problem."
"I won't springiness you companies names, but [there are] … a batch of companies wrong the concern country that tin proviso maine water."
The city's closest hydrants are connected Redonda and Day streets, which bookend the artifact of Gunn that was burning. Those were excessively acold distant to hook up to, Seaton said.
Thanks to the his prior arrangements "we had much h2o than we tin really shingle a instrumentality at," helium said.
The closest root of water couldn't beryllium accessed due to the fact that of the heavy toxic fume blanketing the concern wherever it was located, so crews utilized the adjacent nearest one, Seaton said.
"That's wherefore I ever person a backup to a backup plan. That's however we … controlled that situation."
The section precocious added a caller tanker for 1 its three occurrence stations "so that adds adjacent much h2o supply," Seaton noted.
The origin of the occurrence remains unknown, but Wyatt says overmuch of the area is threaded by obstruction tracks and it's not uncommon for passing bid wheels to nonstop sparks into adjacent adust grasses.
"In the past we've had issues. About 15 years ago we had a monolithic occurrence successful the RM of Springfield that affected a plastics works that was caused by sparks from a train," Wyatt said.
Fire adjacent Balaban Place
Around 4:30 p.m. Monday a fire besides erupted adjacent Balaban Place, a residential area also successful Wyatt's ward. Those flames dispersed crossed respective acres and threatened homes earlier firefighters brought them nether control.
The origin of that is besides nether probe but "there is simply a precise progressive obstruction enactment down Balaban Place," Wyatt noted.
As for the Gunn Road area, the information it is overseen by 2 municipal governments is an contented wrong itself erstwhile it comes to regulating development, Wyatt said.
He's hoping Monday's incidental tin pb to improvements successful the area, oregon astatine slightest immoderate conversations astir it.
"If we tin find the cause, we tin hopefully forestall these things successful the aboriginal from happening."
With files from Meaghan Ketcheson