On May 8, a grass fire on the Cote First Nation sparked a blaze that would eventually stretch over a number of hectares of the rural municipality. Assessing the extremely dry conditions and wind . . .
Thompson said there was no one in the house at the time of the fire and no one sustained any injuries from the event. The owner of the home was located and notified of what was happening. “Unfortunately, the structure was a total loss,” said Thompson. “It was a two-storey building. We suspect the fire started on the second storey, and may have been caused from an overheated chimney.” The responding firefighters had more to handle than the blaze itself, as temperatures had recently plummeted to extreme lows. “We spent nearly four-and-a-half hours fighting this fire,” explained Thompson. “Near the end, we could see the water was slowing down due to the hoses beginning to freeze.”