Confusion and frustration over where firefighting assets are deployed — and why — have reached a fever pitch for some residents of Conception Bay North, who believe their communities were left vulnerable when a wildfire began threatening communities near St. John’s earlier this week.
“With the way the wind was blowing that day, and when they pulled the water bombers to attack Paddy’s Pond, the fire erupted into an inferno and pretty much cleaned out my community,” said Curtis Penney, a resident of Western Bay.
“I’m a firm believer that the north shore was left to burn.”
Fire crews were already tackling multiple blazes when reports emerged Monday afternoon of a fire that began near a utility line near Paddy’s Pond, between the Trans-Canada Highway and Fowler’s Road.
During a media briefing the following day, Premier John Hogan said all decisions were guided by experts, science and safety. He said the fires in Conception Bay North and Paddy’s Pond were fewer than 100 kilometres apart, allowing resources to move quickly between the two fires as requested by fire behaviour specialists and their operations team.
“I want everybody to know that every region in this province is important, and at no stage are we prioritizing one region over the other,” Hogan said.
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Penney evacuated his home with his girlfriend, children and dog on Aug. 3. He took the urns containing the ashes of his loved ones, some photographs and a couple of lawn chairs.
He has been sleeping in his van near the evacuation centre in Carbonear ever since, while his children stay with loved ones.
“Obviously the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” said Penney.
“I can see how displacing Paradise and that area in there takes a little bit of precedence, but [there was] absolutely no information about the change of moving water bombers or aerial assets to there at a time when it was critical — critical — for something to be maintaining and beating back the fire in Western Bay.”
Kim Whalen, also from Western Bay, is sleeping in an RV in the same area.
“I felt that because of Paddy’s Pond, we were left behind,” she said. “We’re just as important, you know, we matter.”
“You take those water bombers away and the fire is going to wipe everything out.”
Whalen and Penney were not alone in their beliefs, with many on social media expressing similar concerns.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s director of wildfire response talked about the allocation of assets during Friday’s wildfire briefing.
The decision of what assets go where lies with provincial fire behaviour specialists and incident management teams, said Craig Coady. He said those experts have a single overriding principle.
“Above all else, protect life and the safety of people. This includes not only the people of the province, but the lives of our ground crews [and] our pilots that are doing these very dangerous jobs,” he said.
Protecting property and infrastructure comes next.
Coady said water bomber pilots need to be able to see other aircraft and terrain at all times, which can be challenging with thick smoke or low clouds.
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In some cases, Coady said, a fire can be too intense to control and contain, as was the scenario multiple times in Conception Bay North when water bombers became ineffective on the front of the fire.
“Even with the best plans, we have to be flexible, as weather conditions and fire behaviour change sometimes from minute to minute,” Coady said.
“Decisions have to be made quickly, calmly and rationally. They must be grounded in science and based on the fire conditions at the time.”
Meanwhile, Penney and Whalen fear this fire will spell the end of their community and surrounding area. They question whether key pieces of infrastructure, such as the school, will be rebuilt in the same area.
In spite of the anger, confusion and sadness, Whalen said she is grateful to those fighting the fire.
“God love them. They’re trying their best,” Whalen said.
“They got the volunteers out, and everybody is doing their best to try to save it, and nobody should be knocking them for that.”
