The fire that is burning out of control in Port Hope Simpson has more than doubled in size, as crews continue Day 2 of efforts to fight the blaze near the southeastern Labrador community.
The fire is listed as five hectares as of mid-Thursday morning, on the N.L. wildfire operations dashboard. It had previously been two hectares.
An evacuation order has not been issued, however a state of emergency has been declared.
Charlottetown fire chief Boyce Turnbull says his department was called shortly after the forest fire broke out around 3 p.m. Wednesday. While the crew returned to their own town, Turnbull said they got called back to Port Hope Simpson to help and remained on scene until 1 a.m., soaking the area.
“Today is a bit of a concern. We’re expecting warm temperatures into the high 20s and 40 km southwest wind, and unfortunately [it] is not the wind we would want in the area,” he said.
Turnbull said there was a lot of smoke early Thursday morning and, according to him, the helicopter couldn’t get off the ground as early as planned. However, aerial water drops are underway.
“Today is going to be an important day on that fire. You know if the resources can get on it earlier, and hopefully make some headway.”
Port Hope Simpson Coun. Sarah Williams told CBC’s Labrador Morning Thursday that crews worked overnight to fight the fire, which burned as close as 300 metres from a home. The fire broke out on Wednesday, prompting a state of emergency.
“The area is, like, in a triangle — we can access it from points on the highway and points on Country Road. So, there were multiple crews on scene, and they were dousing all areas that can be doused,” Williams said.
While no wide-spanning evacuation order has been made, residents of Country Road — on the western side of the highway — were evacuated around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. A helicopter worked on the fire until around 8:30 p.m.
“There was two flare-ups, and the town decided that it was safer for [them], I think there’s only 10 residents on that road, for them to move [to] another part of town,” Williams said.
“There’s moisture in the air today, so hopefully that’s in our favour. We are watching it. Our biggest concern is our community and keeping people safe. It’s not come to that point yet, but if it has to come today then we will evacuate.”
Fire crews work through night to protect Port Hope Simpson homes from wildfire
A water bomber from Happy Valley-Goose Bay will be on the fire Thursday morning. A second water bomber, stationed in Gander, is also on stand-by, according to Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair MHA Lisa Dempster.
Dempster said the distance between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Port Hope Simpson could play a role in how the water bomber operates.
The two communities are around an hour apart by air. The Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands told CBC News in an emailed statement on Wednesday night that water bomber pilots operate four-hour shifts, which gives pilots around two hours of firefighting time before they’d to return to Happy Valley-Goose Bay to refuel.
“We’re an hour [away when] the water bomber has to go back, so that is a concern,” Dempster said. “They do have some resources on the ground, more resources will come in if that’s needed.”
Overnight support also included fire crews from Charlottetown and Mary’s Harbour.
Charlottetown fire chief Boyce Turnbull said weather conditions show warmer temperatures with southwest winds — which aren’t favourable for the community — but he said he remains confident in the response.
“If we can get the bombers and the air attacks on the fire before too late in the day, I think that’s important. That, you know, to try and get control before the middle, hot part of the day,” Turnbull said.
“Certainly hoping that they can knock this down today.”
Emergency shelters are open in Mary’s Harbour and St. Lewis. Williams said around 20 people and their children left the community on Wednesday, but no one has availed of the shelter as of yet.
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