A couple of weeks ago, you may have noticed a plume of fire shooting into the air just North of Carman, Manitoba, if you were driving along Provincial Road 13.
The pillar of fire appeared to stretch as much as 20-30 feet into the air, and was seen burning continuously for days on end.
A rather odd and uncommon sight to see across the Prairies, it may have left residents and passersby in the area concerned about an out-of-control situation, but that couldn't be further from the reality.
The burn took place at the Co-Op Bulk Propane site, located just North of Carman.
In truth, the pillar of fire was actually the result of a controlled burn being carried out by Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) which made the decision to dispose of propane that it deemed to be "out-of-spec", which was delivered to them by a third-party supplier.
Andrew Swanson, Communications and Public Relations Manager for Federated Co-Op, shares that when they realized the product was off-spec, the decision was made to dispose of it by "flaring" it off in a controlled manner.
Crews were seen on-site to supervise and monitor the controlled burn, day and night, to ensure safety.
Swanson or Federated Co-Op did not indicate the amount of product burned or the total burn time, but an official statement from Federated Co-Op reads:
"Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) recently identified an off-spec issue with a limited amount of propane shipped to us from a third-party supplier. FCL has been working with our regulators to responsibly dispose of the off-spec product, with the majority of the product being flared at the Carman, MB bulk propane site. We want to assure you that this process is safe and poses no threat to the public. The flaring at the Carman site has now concluded."
It was certainly a sight to behold, especially for those driving by the site at night.