Latest updates:
The fire that has forced hundreds of people to evacuate and destroyed dozens of homes in Conception Bay North continues to grow.
Provincial fire duty officer Bryan Oke said the Kingston fire is now approximately 9,127 hectares.
“Low ceilings prevented our aerial support early in the morning [Thursday] but we were able to action the southern portion of the fire yesterday — make some good progress there,” he told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
While the fire has spread to the sands in Northern Bay, Oke said he’s hopeful with cooler and damper weather conditions they will be able prevent the fire from spreading further.
“We anticipate heavy aerial support and suppression activities along with some structural protection and some support from RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces,” said Oke.
He said crews are on site Friday morning to assess the situation and come up with a plan of attack.
On Thursday evening the evacuation alert in Conception Bay North was expanded to include Job’s Cove.
Oke said crews worked hard on the Paddy’s Pond fire on Thursday to sustain its northern boundary and they did good work along its southern portion.
“They have a wet line established there,” said Oke, adding the fire is now roughly 308 hectares.
“We’re hoping that the cooler, damper temperatures help suppression activities there today.”
In central Newfoundland, Oke said the Martin Lake fire had “modest growth” and is now 2160 hectares but the fire hasn’t crossed the Bay d’Espoir Highway.
He said they will assess the area on Friday and determine what the impacts to traffic are.
In a statement the provincial government said on Thursday night the Bay D’Espoir Highway from the Sunday Pond Resource Road to the Cat Brook turnaround area is closed.
Oke said while the wildfire situation can change quickly, crews are prepared.
“Fire behaviour changes at a moment’s notice here and our crews are well trained and have the skill sets to be able to address that.”
Premier John Hogan is scheduled to give a wildfire update on Friday at 10:15 a.m. NT.
Hogan said approximately 100 structures, including homes, had been destroyed due to the Kingston fire.
Labrador City said it is responding to the provincial government call-out for aid, sending its firefighters to help fight the Kingston fire.
“It is truly heartwarming to see our province come together during such a difficult time,” Mayor Belinda Adams said in a statement.
The heat warning issued by Environment Canada that had been in effect for several days has been lifted, but an air quality warning due to the Kingston and Paddy’s Pond fires is in effect for the north Avalon Peninsula and St. John’s area.
Meteorologist Justin Boudreau said there is more smoke coming from the Kingston fire rather than the Paddy’s Pond fire.
“So really the trick will be this evening when the winds shift from southerly to northerly, the plume from the Kingston fire is probably going to sweep across the Avalon,” he said.
There will likely be a brief period of low air quality Friday evening in the St. John’s metro and areas south of the fire, he added.
Boudreau said between two to four millimetres of rain is expected to fall over the region on Friday, adding there is a good chance of thunderstorms moving across the island, which might bring rainfall.
He said periods of drizzle are expected overnight, until Saturday morning, with temperatures dipping as well.
“What the showers will do — not entirely sure. It may improve things for sort of Friday night into Saturday but I would expect it’s probably not going to be enough to put that fire out.”
An air quality statement is in effect for parts of central Newfoundland due to the Martin Lake fire.
As of Friday morning, the provincial fire hazard map considers most of the island of Newfoundland to be at a moderate to extreme fire risk, with the Burin Peninsula at a low fire risk. Labrador is also considered to be between a low risk to extreme along the coast.
The RNC said a 16-year-old in Pouch Cove was ticketed on Thursday evening for driving an off-road vehicle in a wooded area — a violation of the province wide ban where the fire index is rated between high to extreme.
In a statement, the RNC said the youth was also given a ticket for driving without insurance and seized the ATV.
The off-road vehicle ban is in effect until at least Aug. 17 at 11:59 p.m., when it will be re-assessed.
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