Grass fire disrupts treaty meeting in Manitoba

Dry and windy conditions near Brandon, Man., have sparked grass fires that disrupted a large aboriginal treaty meeting on Tuesday.

More than 500 people from across the Prairies and Ontario have gathered in Brandon for the Treaties 1-11 Gathering, but the meeting was sidelined by a grass fire in the area.

The fire appeared to have started near some vehicles that were parked close to the Brandon airport.

"This fire was closely monitored but because of the wind, it picked it up and it jumped … into the grass that was on the ground and started expanding," said Sheila North Wilson, a spokesperson with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

"The fire started going under vehicles. People were honking their horns, the ones that were noticing it."

Some staff and volunteers at the gathering were even using their coats and chairs to help battle the flames, North Wilson said.

"They were using their chairs as shovels, and some people ran to their vehicles to get fire extinguishers," she said.

Brandon fire officials say crews were battling two grass fires near Brandon on Tuesday afternoon.

The Treaties 1-11 Gathering has been running since Sept. 6 and is scheduled to wrap up on Thursday.