The fire that claimed two homes on the Sweetgrass First Nation Tuesday started the day before.

The blaze started on Monday, and jumped over Highway 40 before members of the First Nation and the provincial fire fighting team brought it under control.

They thought they had put it out completely, but it flared up again in the middle of the night.

The flames first claimed an empty house, then spread to an occupied home next door.

Chief Laurie Whitecalf with the Sweetgrass First Nation said it likely started with a controlled grass fire.

"To my understanding it's under investigation but somebody was burning grass in their yard and it got away from them," she explained.

"It was really windy - not a good day for starting fires and it quickly got out of control."

Whitecalf said a different fire, which started last week as a controlled burn in the Rural Municipality of Cut Knife, is still burning on the north end of Sweetgrass First Nation. They are hoping that fire will burn itself out.

Reported by News Talk Radio's Kurtis Doering

Edited by News Talk Radio staff