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A grass fire near Coderre last week burned roughly 100 acres, with firefighters and local farmers working together to prevent the blaze from spreading into standing crops.
The Gravelbourg Fire Department was called to the fire on Aug. 22, about a 35- to 40-minute drive from the community.
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Gravelbourg Fire Chief Scott Booth said several farmers were already at the scene when his department arrived, bringing water tanks, front-end loaders and other equipment to help contain the blaze.
Booth said windy conditions, combined with dry crop residue, allowed the fire to move quickly.
“It was pretty windy that day and with durum stubble there, it was like gasoline. That moves quick.”
Farmers used equipment to establish fireguards and firebreaks, helping firefighters contain the blaze.
Booth estimates approximately 100 acres of durum stubble and straw swaths were burned.
“I’d say roughly 100 acres or so of durum stubble and durum swaths of the straw swaths were burnt,” said Booth. “But if they wouldn’t have had that fire line there, it would have been a lot worse.”
Booth said standing durum was located nearby, meaning the damage could have been significantly greater if the fire had continued to spread.
Booth said the department has noticed more farmers preparing themselves to respond to fires before firefighters arrive.
“We’ve noticed more and more farmers are getting more self-prepared and so ready for this kind of situation,” said Booth. “That’s been nice to help us out for sure.”
That preparation can be particularly important in rural areas, where fire departments may have considerable distances to travel.
Booth said it takes Gravelbourg firefighters about 35 to 40 minutes to reach the Coderre area, with travel on rural and gravel roads adding another challenge for larger fire trucks.
“We can’t be moving as fast as we like to sometimes, but just rather get there safely than have an incident ourselves.”
Gravelbourg Fire Department Safety Officer Matt Forest said help from farmers and others in the community is appreciated, but it’s important for those arriving at an emergency to first check in with incident command.
“If we are coming to a scene, we do appreciate farmers coming up to the incident command and getting direction from there and not just going out and doing whatever they think is necessary,” said Forest.
With harvest underway across southern Saskatchewan, Booth is also reminding producers about the importance of equipment maintenance and having water readily available.
He said mechanical issues involving bearings and other combine components can create a fire risk in dry fields.
“It’s just nice having the farmers have water and being able to do the maintenance on their machines and keep their bearings greased so they don’t have bearings cause fires,” said Booth.
Booth added that proper equipment maintenance can make a significant difference in preventing fires during harvest.
The Gravelbourg Fire Department said having farmers prepared with water and equipment can also help limit the spread of a fire before emergency crews arrive.
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