Manitoba town loses arena to fire

An electrical problem is being blamed for a fire that completely destroyed the arena in Cartwright, Man., Sunday night.

The fire started in the kitchen around 8 p.m. and spread quickly in the arena, which was built in the southwestern Manitoba community in 1959.

The loss has left a big hole in the village of 300, wiping out nearly 50 years of local hockey history and putting the current hockey season on ice.

"The building itself was completely levelled, and everything inside the arena, including trophies, banners, hockey jerseys and right down to the loss of our ice machine," said Larry Martens, president of the Cartwright Minor Hockey Association.

The first hockey game of the season was to be Monday night; hockey teams and figure skaters have begun a search for new ice for practice and play.

"We had just had the ice in, and there was practices going on," said Mayor Bruce Leadbeater. "There was to be a hockey game actually tonight."

Firefighters from several local volunteer fire departments and a nearby Hutterite colony did save the adjoining curling rink, although it was damaged.

Leadbeater declined to estimate the damage, but said the facility was insured.

Cartwright is located about 180 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg.