Hanover' Fire Chief says the grass fire that burned as much as 70 acres north of Ridge Road on Road 32E started in a burn barrel. The Kleefeld, Grunthal and Steinbach Fire Departments battled the fire for over three hours Friday afternoon. Paul Wiebe notes burn barrels are not permitted as part of the fire ban that is currently in place and he says they are looking into the matter to determine if a penalty will be assessed. 

Meanwhile, the Kleefeld Fire Department, with the help of tankers from Grunthal and New Bothwell, extinguished another grass fire yesterday three miles east of Kleefeld on Blatz Road. Crews were called just before 6:30 and had the fire out within half an hour. Wiebe says the fire was started by a spark from a brush mower and is deemed as accidental. No structures were lost in the fire.