“En route, we saw nothing but a wall of flame and smoke so we knew we were going to be encountering something special.”

Taché Fire Chief Allan Rau and dozens of other firefighters across the Rural Municipality had their evening plans derailed last night by the first massive wildfire of the season.

Rau says he was unaware anything was amiss until a resident called in, concerned that an approaching fire was putting her home in jeopardy. Sensing the urgency of the situation, the chief responded in kind. Without hesitation, he sent word to all municipal fire stations in Landmark, Lorette, and Ste. Genevieve. By 4:00 PM, the three forces had converged at a point just north of Ross to find several hundred hectares of bush had already gone up in smoke.

“Once we arrived, we surveyed the scene, and established an initial attack plan to protect any residences that could be affected by the fire,” describes Rau. “Luckily, nothing encroached on any homes. That was our first and ultimate goal and we achieved it.”

Rau says all three departments were called to attend the fire, just north of Ross. Photo credit: Andy Brandt

While no houses were impacted by the blaze, Rau notes the terrain consisted largely of reeds and dry grass which easily gave way to the flames. He estimates about 1,500 hectares of land were consumed by fire before his crews had everything under control. Considering the dangerous lack of moisture in the ground this year, Rau says the fire could have been even worse if not for a few factors,

“It is unprecedented how dry it is this early, I mean we’re not even in spring yet,” he comments. “So we were proactive and, last week, at all three stations, we made sure to get all of our wildfire gear together so in that respect we were prepared.” That readiness, he says, saved his team precious time.

The other advantage crews had in fighting this fire came from Taché’s own public works manager Andy Brandt. Rau commends Brandt for showing up with the municipality’s drone and giving his squad a bird’s eye view of what was happening. “This was very useful to establish a successful fire attack.”

To further improve matters, Rau says Ste. G's General Store nearby pulled their own stunt to help boost morale.

“Unbeknownst to us, they all of a sudden showed up with a stack of pizzas, some hot coffee, and some cool Gatorade,” he laughs. “So that was liked by all and was gobbled up quite quickly.”

In total, firefighters were on scene for approximately seven hours and finally at 11 PM the fire was no longer a threat. A few homeowners in the area were advised to contact the department if they noticed any flare-ups, but Rau says the rest of the night went by without a hitch.

As for what initially started the fire, Rau says it is impossible to tell. “Speculation is that it may have been started by an ATV up in Anola going through some tall grass, but that is not confirmed.”

Firefighters returned to the site this morning and officially determined that it had been extinguished.

“There was no flame, no smoke, no nothing,” Rau states. “So we were happy.”

He applauds his team for a job well done and says their speed and skill this time around have set a high standard for the season.