A grass fire has broken out near the Village of Paynton.
On April 18th, around 3:30 p.m. an off-duty RCMP member alerted the Maidstone RCMP of the fire. Maidstone RCMP, the Enhanced Policing Unit, Paynton Fire Dept, and Maidstone Fire Dept attended the scene.
Highway 16 was blocked off for a short time due to the risk posed by the fire as well as the smoke creating zero visibility on the road over a stretch of the highway. A little later the highway was restricted to one lane for the remainder of the time that fire crews were on scene.
A nearby business was at risk and approximately 15 scrap vehicles were lost due to fire and two other vehicles sustained damage.
By 5 o’clock, the fire was fully contained by the attending Fire Departments and the highway reopened. The town of Paynton was never believed to be at risk and nobody was evacuated.
At this time, the town of Paynton has a partial fire ban and the Maidstone Enhanced Policing Unit will be continuing its investigation into the fire.
During the initial response to the fire, two passersby and a local resident from the Rural Municipality of Paynton assisted Police and Fire. The Maidstone RCMP thank these three men as their efforts greatly assisted those who were first on scene.
Paynton and Maidstone Fire Departments remind citizens be mindful of local fire bans and maintain supervision at all times of any fires. Currently, there is a fire ban in place for the RMs of Britannia and Wilton.