Lightning strike blamed for wildfire that threatened new discovery centre at Oak Hammock Marsh

Darren Bernhardt · CBC News

· Posted: May 12, 2025 2:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The caller find centre astatine Manitoba's Oak Hammock Marsh came adjacent to being swept up successful a writer fire, with conscionable 2 weeks to spell until its expansive opening.

"Had the upwind been successful a antithetic direction, it mightiness person been a antithetic communicative this morning, truthful determination was a adjacent call," said Jacques Bourgeois, spokesperson for the marsh's Wetland Discovery Centre, just northbound of Winnipeg adjacent Stonewall.

He started getting calls astir 8:15 p.m. Sunday from birdwatchers who noticed acheronian fume rising up.

"They thought determination was really a occurrence astatine the centre; being nether operation and all, they thought possibly it was a operation mistake oregon something," Bourgeois said.

Fire trucks were sent retired and extinguished what turned retired to beryllium a writer occurrence that crept within 200-300 metres of the find centre, which has been nether operation for 19 months and is acceptable to unfastened May 24.

"So a small adjacent for comfort," Bourgeois said.

The marsh, a 36-square-kilometre wetland and wildlife attraction, is simply a remnant of a erstwhile 470-square-kilometre country that extended from the borderline of Winnipeg northbound to Teulon.

Measures to reconstruct the remnant began successful the precocious 1960s, and the archetypal interpretive centre opened successful 1993. The caller 1 replaces that.

As portion of the renovations, a ample caller pumphouse was built for occurrence prevention, which allowed firefighters connected Sunday nighttime to refill their proviso connected site, alternatively than going elsewhere and returning.

"The timing was great," said Bourgeois, who believes the occurrence was ignited by a lightning onslaught aft storms rolled done the area.

While it's wetland, determination are highly adust grasses and cattails, helium said.

"We haven't had tons of rainfall for a portion now."

Bourgeois estimates the full burned section as a 4th of an acre "at least."

"It's a reasonably ample area," helium said. 

Grasses are charred astir immoderate of the self-guided walking trails, but the paths are inactive usable, said Bourgeois, who stood connected the rooftop of the caller gathering for a amended vantage point.

From determination helium could inactive spot immoderate fume rising successful the distance.

"It seems similar those blistery spots are determination successful the mediate of the marsh, truthful they're beauteous inaccessible [to spell and extinguish them]," helium said.

"I conjecture we volition conscionable fto them pain up connected their own. I deliberation we don't person to interest excessively overmuch astir it close now."

Fire has ever played an integral portion successful earthy absorption connected the prairies, helping rejuvenate the grasses and forestall non-native taxon from taking over, Bourgeois said.

Even now, the find centre has controlled burns connected a regular ground to forestall buildup of debris that could substance larger blazes.

Fires successful Winnipeg

The adust conditions besides contributed to grassland fires wrong the metropolis of Winnipeg.

On Monday morning, crews were called to enactment retired flames at Whittier Park (St. Joseph Street), a tract disconnected McPhillips Street, conscionable northbound of Murray Avenue, and disconnected Logan Avenue adjacent the McPhillips Athletic Grounds.

All 3 fires were rapidly contained and extinguished, the metropolis said successful a quality release.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service past week issued a occurrence prohibition for the city, owed to the adust conditions and a agelong of hot, windy conditions. Temperatures successful the 30s are forecast for Monday done Wednesday earlier rainfall and cooler upwind arrives to adjacent retired the week.

The prohibition is successful effect until 6 p.m. May 19, and anyone breaking it could get a $500 fine.