A grass fire occurred on Thanksgiving Monday off Range Road 55 and Township Road 121.-- SUBMITTED PHOTO CHARLOTTE BONOGOFSKY
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
A grass fire started on Monday evening on the north side of the railway tracks at the intersection of Range Road 55 and Township Road 121. The area is served by the Cypress County Fire Department and crews were onsite in about 15 minutes of the fire starting and had it under control another 15 minutes later.
Charlotte Bonogofsky, owner of Icy Mountain Water, lives on Township Road 121, and was doing dishes when she heard the sirens but didn’t see the fire. Her husband was in the garage and came in the house to get her.
“The train had just gone by and more than likely the train sparked it because it’s really dry,” said Bonogofsky.
The flames shot up to 40 or 50 feet high and were swirling, says Bonogofsky, a beautiful yet terrifying sight. The Bonogofskys have lived there for 16 years and this is the second grass fire they’ve witnessed, the last one occurred three or four years ago.
The fire was contained to the north side of the railway tracks, protecting the several houses on the south side. There was an east wind blowing during the fire, which got worse after it was extinguished. Bonogofsky said all her Halloween decorations got blown around through the night. While out taking a picture of the full moon, she noticed the fire department returning to check on the burnt area.
Mike Muminovic, owner of A Cut Above Tree Service, also lives in the area and got a call from a neighbour who told him to get home because there was a fire. When Muminovic arrived, the flames were high and moving so he jumped in his bobcat to try and prevent the fire from spreading over to the south side of the tracks.
