'It's scary almost,' says Whitehead fire chief after 2 grass fires

The chief of the Rural Municipality of Whitehead's fire department says two grass fires near Brandon on Tuesday serve as a reminder that small fires can quickly get out of control.

"It's incredible really. It's scary almost," said Kelly Crosson. He and members of the fire department were kept busy with two fires and a collision on Tuesday.

• Emergency crews called to grass fire and crash west of Brandon
• Large grass fire destroys buildings north of Virden, Man.

The first was a grass fire in the western part of the municipality.

Crosson said a strip of brush and grass about two kilometers longwere burned near a marsh. It started when a homeowner decided to do some burning. He said the homeowner had taken all of the proper precautions like having a fire stop in place, but in the end it was no match for the winds.

Firefighters stopped the fire just moments before it reached ashed, he said.

"If it hadn't been that we stopped it and the wind, the way it changed... it could have taken many different paths," he added. "It could have jumped roads and probably continued for another mile or two."

Firefighters battle blaze near Brandon

Crews then headed to the eastern edge of the municipality after getting calls about a brush fire getting close the municipality's border.

"We offered our service to protect the border and we put out some smoking hydro poles and controlled the fire," said Crosson.

The fire started at around 3:45 p.m. about three kilometers west of Brandon at the border between the RM of Whitehead and the RM of Cornwallis. The Brandon Fire and Emergency service took the lead in the fight.

Crosson said ten Whitehead firefighters helped out. The fire department also helped haul water to and from the scene, he said.

"They [Brandon] were doing the ugly stuff in the bush," he said. "They had the tough one on that one."

A Brandon Fire and Emergency Service spokesperson didn't immediately have information Wednesday morning on the extent of thearea affectedor what might have sparked the blaze.

Meanwhile Crosson said it serves as a reminder to homeowners to be careful.

"Conditions are dry and ideal as we found out yesterday," Crosson said. "Something as simple as burning a little bit of leaves in your yard can turn into a major inferno if it gets into the long grass."

Collision stalls traffic near scene of fire

Then just after 5 p.m., emergency crews were called to the collision on Highway 1A, metres away from the scene of the grass fire.

Traffic was detoured around the scene for more than an hour. A car and a pickup truck with a trailer both had front end damage.

Crosson said only minor injuries were sustained by those involved. One person was taken to hospital as a precaution, he said.