Rebuilding efforts continue after N.L. wildfire destroyed nearly 200 homes last year

Almost a year after a devastating wildfire tore through the north shore of Conception Bay, destroying nearly 200 homes, people are rebuilding and taking stock of what was lost and isn’t so easily replaced.

In August of last year, Jo Hogan was evacuated from Western Bay due to the Kingston wildfire and learned a few weeks later her home had been destroyed.

“To say it was a traumatic time would be the biggest understatement of the year. But I’m a strong woman,” she said in front of her new home currently under construction.

Hogan was speaking to reporters earlier this week as part of a tour of the area impacted by the Kingston wildfire organized by insurance company Belairdirect.

“We’re not moving on. We’re just moving forward, one day at a time, as best we can,” Hogan said.

Hogan said her daughter and her family also lost their home in the fire as well and they aren’t living in the area, adding her grandchildren have started school in another community.

Being separated from them has also been devastating, said Hogan, who hopes one day they will return to their street.

“But it’s so lonely without them.”

There’s a growing pile of debris at the Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam’s Cove town depot as residents dispose of refuse left behind by the fire.

In the pile, Coun. Mark Ploughman can pick out some features like trellises from decks that have been burned as well as parts of destroyed garages.

“It’s a lot of wood,” he told CBC News, adding the pile has been growing in size in the last month as more people are rebuilding.

He said the community is still dealing with refuse left behind by last summer’s wildfires, which created more waste than what the town normally handles.

“We’ve got to come up with ways of getting this material kind of moved out of here because in this current state, it’s actually an additional fire hazard,” Ploughman said.

He’s hopeful as more new houses are popping up but adds residents are still anxious due to the possibility of future fires.

“I was with some people there the other day and we were looking towards the hills and we saw a plume of smoke coming up from in behind Kingston somewhere. And you can sense the tension, you know?”

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Between the Adam’s Cove and Kingston fires, Ploughman said 45 homes in his community were destroyed and he estimates between 50 to 70 homes are currently under construction in the impacted area.

“You stand by the road and you just see truckloads of lumber passing by every day, right?”

Meghan Gardner, the vice-president of Atlantic claims with Belairdirect, said the insurance company received approximately 340 claims from Conception Bay North area due to the fire, of which about 74 per cent are closed.

“We’ve made really good progress,” she told reporters.

Those claims include homes completely or partially damaged, as well as vehicles or claims for people because they were evacuated.

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