Buildings lost, explosions heard as fire crews battle huge Transcona wildfire

A fast-spreading wildfire prompted emergency evacuations, sparked explosions and damaged or destroyed an undetermined number of buildings in north Transcona Monday afternoon.

Fire crews responded to the blaze, located on the south side of Gunn Road and east of Day Street, just after 2 p.m. and fought against soaring temperatures and high winds before containing the fire at about 5 p.m., Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service deputy fire chief Scott Wilkinson said.

“Right now, we do know we’ve lost a few structures on both sides of the fire along the south side of Gunn,” Wilkinson told reporters at the scene.

“There were a lot of explosions going on. There was car storage and other industrial buildings (affected). I don’t have any other information on exact content at this point.”

The area contains numerous commercial and industrial businesses, including Griffin Wheel Company, Varsteel Ltd., Plasti-Fab Manitoba, MB1Call paint store and auto dealers, among others. Nobody was injured, but all businesses in the area were ordered to evacuate, Wilkinson said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.

Containing the blaze was especially challenging because the eastern side of the affected area did not have access to a water supply. Firefighters from the RM of Springfield assisted the WFPS, Wilkinson said.

“The fire was very high intensity with a lot of smoke,” Wilkinson told a local radio outlet at about 5:20 p.m. “We were unable to get close access, but throughout the afternoon, our crews have done a great job in working diligently to get it under control.”

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At least two dozen water and tanker trucks, fire engines, rescue crews and drones responded, he said.

“That was compounded with a number of other ongoing incidents in the city…. Hence the need for caution right now with these extremely dry conditions.”

Temperatures reached 35 C in Winnipeg, and similar highs were seen elsewhere in the province, prompting Environment and Climate Change Canada to issue a heat warning.

WFPS issued a fire ban in the city in response to a stretch of hot and windy days. Temperatures in the 30s are forecast to continue until Wednesday before cooler weather and rain is expected to reach the province.

Breaking the fire ban could result in a $500 fine. It remains in effect until 6 p.m. May 19.

Fire bans have been in place in many other communities amid raging wildfires in some parts of Manitoba.

Massive plumes of black smoke drifted over the city throughout the afternoon — visible from as far away as downtown. Passers-by stopped at the end of Wabasha Street, near Larche Crescent, to observe the smoke, as vehicles were diverted from the area. Others congregated on a section of trail between Day and Redonda streets.

“The smoke was huge, it was crazy. The whole north side of Transcona was, like, all black ,” said Ria Dubrow, describing how she watched the from her home near Arthur Day Middle School, just south of where the fire was burning.

Dubrow said she initially thought it was a house fire, but realized it must be something more substantial due to the black colour and size of the smoke cloud, she said.

Winnipeg Police Service officers were stationed at Day and Redonda Streets, preventing drivers from turning onto Gunn Road during the afternoon.

Meanwhile, a Ste. Anne’s Police Service vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the Perimeter Highway, as traffic began to snarl in the area.

The City of Winnipeg said on social media at 2:45 p.m. that Gunn Road is closed to traffic between Plessis Road and Redonda Street. Some school bus routes were affected because of the closure, River East Transcona School Division said on X.

Manitoba Hydro said more than 1,000 customers were without power so that firefighters could safely battle the blaze. The public utility said shortly before 4 p.m. that power had been restored to all but a few customers. Those customers will remain without power until the fire is extinguished and Hydro can access its poles, it said.

Crews battled at least three other wildland and grass fires Monday morning. Crews were sent to fires in Whittier Park and on the 2900 block of McPhillips Street and 1100 block of Logan Avenue. They quickly contained and extinguished the fires, the WFPS said in a news release.

In the afternoon, crews raced to two other grass fires: one was called in around 4:30 p.m. in the rear of Balaban Place. Crews used specialized wildland fire equipment. They remained at the scene to put out hot spots.

About an hour later, firefighters were called to rue des Trappistes fire near Pembina Highway. They launched a fire attack and quickly brought the fire under control. No injuries were reported and the cause is being probed in both incidents.

— With files from Erik Pindera

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.