Manitoba's fire commissioner's office has confirmed a straw bale fire that has been burning along the TransCanada Highway west of Winnipeg since Thursday was deliberately set.
The blaze was first reported Thursday night by a security guard at the former Dow BioProducts plant near Elie.
The flames spread quickly as a result of heavy winds.
The Rural Municipality of Cartier fire department - a volunteer force - has been using a front-end loader to break up the burning bales and a tractor-pulled snow blower is pouring snow on the fire.
The bales were part of a stockpile that was left behind after Dow BioProducts shutdown their plant in the area.
The bales were supposed to be used for making particle-board, but high fuel costs and poor exchange rates made the process infeasible.
The fact that the 150,000 bales were never removed from the site has long been a subject of controversy.
With files from the Canadian Press
