High winds Monday afternoon took a fire in a durum field and turned it into a massive wild fire near Glentworth.

Robin Poirier ranches right next to the land and says it started around 2pm and quickly grew out of control, despite having help neighbours from miles around.  "People from all over the place came to help us and it was amazing the help we got."

They set up fire lines as best the could but the wind made it impossible to fight themselves. He estimates that the fire was about 12 miles long by a mile wide. "Finally we had some bombers come in from the north. They come in around 7 o'clock or 7:30, made six of eight passes each and got the fire under control."

There's no official word on the cause at this time. The RM office estimates that 3500 acres of crop and grassland was burned.