The town of Musgrave Harbour in Newfoundland and Labrador has been ordered to evacuate with a wildfire now only one kilometre away from the community.
The evacuation order also includes Banting Memorial Park Campground, close to the town.
All four of the province’s active water bombers are now attacking the blaze, which is steadily moving toward the town due to the prevailing winds.
In a provincial update provided at noon Sunday, Jamie Chippett, the deputy minister of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, said that when the fire was detected at 8 p.m. Saturday evening, it was eight kilometres from the community. Now it is only one kilometre away.
“It is at a very high rank, a Rank 5 in technical terms; [that means it’s] ‘very active.'”
Newfoundland and Labrador uses the international ranking scale for fire behaviour, meaning a Rank 5 would be an extremely vigorous surface fire. That scale only goes to 6.
“The community would be seeing lots of smoke,” said Chippett. “We do have weather conditions with a wind that is 40 gusting to 50 west-southwest, which unfortunately puts the community directly in the line of the fire.”
Chippett said as of yet, they don’t have an estimate on the size of the fire because of smoky conditions, but they do know it is “within the hundreds of hectares.”
While tomorrow’s winds are supposed to be slightly lighter, Chippett said they’ll still be in the direction of the community. Forecasts are also saying that there may be some precipitation during the evening.
“The first real relief is on Tuesday when we expect cooler temperatures, different wind direction and potentially some significant precipitation,” said Chippett.
Minister of Justice and Public Safety John Haggie called it “a significant and serious issue.”
Musgrave Harbour evacuees are being advised to go to a reception centre in Gander at the Steele Memorial Centre on 155 Airport Boulevard. The Canadian Red Cross will also be there to assist.
Haggie asked that everyone affected by the evacuation order call 709-729-0921 to register, even if they are not intending to use the centre or the Red Cross services provided in Gander.
“It’s important that we have that information so we can help you out even if you don’t use the Steel Centre itself,” said Haggie.
The minister also asked that any drones be kept clear of the area, as they would prevent water bombers from flying in the area.
“Drones in the air means no water bombers in the air,” said Haggie. “That is our main weapon during the daylight hours of containing forest fires like this. So unauthorized drone use is actually a criminal offence.”
Haggie also says the health authority has extra support in place at the James Paton Memorial Regional Health Centre in Gander, for both physical and mental health needs.
The province advises residents to monitor official channels for updates.
Residents attempting to leave the region without vehicles can go to the Musgrave Harbour fire department to avail of busing transportation, and to be brought to Gander, says Town Clerk Amber Littlejohn.
Littlejohn is also asking that residents drive safely, and tell friends and family where they are.
She also told CBC that the community is currently “drenched with smoke.”
The town fire department was on scene fighting the fire all night, said Littlejohn, who added that while they couldn’t see the fire from the town, she could see the crews working to fight it.
“We have a water bomber going back and forth. He’s picking up water from a designated area in the ocean there, off our beach,” she said.
Musgrave Harbour’s town council declared a state of emergency Sunday morning, according to a letter released on social media.
The letter states that the council has determined that the wildfire poses a serious safety risk to residents and property within the town.
Environment Canada has an air quality warning in place in the Musgrave Harbour area due to high levels of smoke at this time.
Haggie said air quality is a bigger concern for firefighters at this time.
The air quality warning on the Bonavista peninsula due to the fire near Chance Harbour was lifted this morning.
“This is a really busy fire season for the province and certainly for the island at the moment,” said Haggie.
As of Saturday, that fire had grown to over 1,660 hectares and was still considered out of control.
Provincial Fire Duty Officer Wesley Morgan says the wind has been helping keep the fire away from the nearby towns of Jamestown and Winter Brook.
However it is still very much considered an active fire.
In the 11 a.m. update, the forestry department said that Chance Harbour residents can expect to see significant smoke from the southern end of the fire.
Three helicopters will continue to work the fire throughout the day, and ground crews will be deployed once it is safe to do so.
Ground crews are still working on the wildfires at Nine Island Pond and Northwest Brook.
At this time, Haggie says the province’s fire suppression resources are adequate to deal with the current situation. But if things get worse, the province will look at asking other provinces for help.
A fire ban is still in place across the entire province today. The province is reminding residents that open fires are still not permitted.
Haggie also wanted to remind people to be careful with cigarette butts.
“It is surprising the number of people who just casually toss them out of the window on the highway and we’ve seen that cause trouble before,” he said.
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