Winnipeg fire crews spent Tuesday evening battling a large fire at an industrial scrap yard in the city's Transcona area.

Fire crews from at least six stations were called to the General Scrap yard on Springfield Road and Bismarck Street at around 4:30 p.m. CT.

Greg Gerbrandt said he was driving in the area at around 5 p.m. when he saw very thick plumes of smoke.

"I first saw the smoke when I was turning onto Plessis [Road] … and I could tell that it was quite thick," he told CBC News.

"When I got there, it was just a large tall column — say, 100 to 150 feet wide. Like, it was really big."

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Some witnesses had said they thought the fire started at Bucks Auto Parts, a neighbouring auto parts recycling business, but fire officials at the scene confirmed that it was at General Scrap.

Ed Wolfe said he saw the smoke from the auto parts yard when he was told to leave.

Wolfe said a worker "came to me and told me I had to leave because they were afraid that … that fire was going to come over."

After ground crews spent hours fighting the flames, a helicopter arrived in the evening to attack the fire from above.

Fire officials say no injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at between $100,000 and $200,000.

Officials are trying to determine what may have caused the blaze.