Portage la Prairie firefighters put in some extra hours over the weekend, battling a grass fire in the St. Ambroise region.

The call came in around 9:30 yesterday morning, and the crews were their until about 1:30 this morning. Fire Chief Phil Carpenter says the cause was a burn site thought to be out two weeks ago, with embers that caught fire in the windy, dry conditions.

He urges you not to do any burning for the next while, but if you do, take precautions, such as having water available and cultivating an area around the site. Carpenter reminds you there are fines that can be levied if a fire gets out of control.

Carpenter notes the department's on heightened alert after the weekend, and will be as long as warm, dry conditions persist. He says this is early for grass fire season, adding there's a lot of dry vegetation in the area, so any fire can get out of control quickly.