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Crews will continue to battle an out of control wildfire that broke out on the outskirts of St. John’s but the provincial fire duty officer warns it won’t be an easy job given prevailing dry conditions.
On Monday the out-of-control Paddy’s Pond wildfire quickly grew to 200 hectares in a few hours, prompting the province to put portions of Paradise and Conception Bay South on an evacuation alert.
Provincial fire duty officer Mark Lawlor said they plan to get aerial assets into the sky quickly on Tuesday to fight the fire and if it is safe to do so, get crews on the ground, adding the St. John’s Regional Fire Department is also working with them.
“We’re doing everything we can to limit the movement of this fire, hopefully contain it,” he told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
Lawlor said the Paddy’s Pond fire is still approximately 200 hectares.
“Overnight there was no growth in the fire, thankfully. However, this morning there’s still active fire on it already,” he said.
Trees are already burning and there is a lot of smoke in the area, he added.
Given the current forecast, which is dry with no rain expected, Lawlor said they are anticipating “extreme fire behaviour” on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a troublesome day,” said Lawlor.
He also advised people if they’re under an alert, to be ready to leave if necessary. Lawlor also asked people to stay away from the fire because they need access to stay clear and they don’t want people to get in the way.
According to the provincial wildfire dashboard, there are eight fires currently burning across the province, with five burning out of control.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their communities and many others are waiting to see if they will need to leave quickly due to the wildfires.
Lawlor said the Kingston fire is still out of control and it has expanded north and is now in Ochre Pit Cove.
He said work on the fire guard on its southern end will continue on Tuesday and they are planning a second fire guard on its northern end.
He said the Holyrood fire is considered under control and while there were a couple of hot spots on Monday, crews “jumped” on it.
The Martin Lake fire is also still out of control and there was some growth on its northeast corner and southwest corner on Monday
“We had extremely high winds, high temperatures and low relative humidities which led to some growth,” said Lawlor.
But he said there is good news, as the water bombers and helicopters worked well and were able to minimize the growth.
However, the bulldozer and excavator working on the fire guard had to be pulled from the site because of safety concerns. Lawlor said crews will be back on Tuesday and they are trying to keep the Bay d’Espoir Highway open.
There are also two wildfires burning in Labrador, the Udjuktok Bay fire and Travespine fire.
Lawlor said the Udjuktok Bay fire is being monitored because it’s not close to any major assets.
He said there was progress on the Traverspine fire, located 19 kilometres south of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, on Monday.
Environment Canada has issued two weather alerts for the province, an air quality statement is in effect for the northern Avalon Peninsula and St. John’s area, as well as a heat warning for most of the province.
As of Tuesday morning, the provincial fire hazard map lists most of the island of Newfoundland at an extreme risk of fire. Parts of Labrador range from a moderate risk to extreme.
A province-wide fire ban is in effect until September.
CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler said the forecast for the next few days is more hot, dry weather with relatively low humidity, which she said can lead to extreme fire behaviour.
“That’s been the recipe that we’ve been seeing, really, for what, two weeks now? There’s really no relief in the forecast,” Brauweiler said.
She added the rainfall previously forecasted for Thursday is not looking likely.
“Obviously every little bit helps, but at this point it looks like the better chance of showers may be as we get into Friday.”
Brauweiler said because of the winds, people can expect varying levels of smoke across the St. John’s area.
C.B.S. resident David Coates said he and his wife are ready to leave if the order is given but he’s hopeful the fire won’t reach structures in Paradise or his community.
“It’s anxious times for sure,” he told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
If they need to leave, Coates said they will go to a sister’s home in St. John’s.
Coates is an artist and said most of his artwork will stay in his home because he doesn’t have the capability to move the paintings on short notice.
While Coates would hate to lose his paintings, he’s keeping it in perspective.
“We’ve got other memories and items that we certainly can’t take with us that we’d hate to lose. But at the end of the day, I can rebuild and I can paint again.”
In response to the nearby wildfires, the ongoing Canada Summer Games is moving some sporting events scheduled for Tuesday out of Paradise and C.B.S. to St. John’s. Beach volleyball and sailing are postponed.
2025 Canada Games Host Society CEO Karen Sherriffs said they are monitoring the situation and working with various authorities, like the municipalities and the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre.
“The safety of athletes, coaches, participants, and volunteers is our top priority,” she said in a statement on Monday evening.
Mount Pearl announced it was keeping all of its indoor recreation facilities closed due to air quality concerns, with an update coming later in the morning.
The town of C.B.S. is also keeping its indoor and outdoor recreation facilities in an effort to reduce unnecessary travel and keep roads clear for emergency crews.
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