N.L. premier declares regional state of emergency as more communities evacuate

premiere john lackland ben hogan holds briefing on wildfires

At a 6:00 p.m. NT promulgation, Premier John Hogan announced that the government of Newfoundland and Labrador is declaring a regional state of emergency for Bay de Verde Peninsula, North of Bristol's Hope and White Way.

"A state of emergency allows our government another tool in our toolbox to help continue our best efforts to keep the community safe," said Hogan.

Hogan clarified that only communities under evacuation orders are required to evacuate at this time, but other communities are encouraged to prepare to evacuate. 

Hogan also announced that the province has received word a fire has started near Gull Island, in Labrador. He says a helicopter is on the way. 

Hogan added two more water bombers and a bird dog will also be coming from Ontario on Sunday to assist fire suppression.

This is a breaking news update. A previous version of this story is below.

More communities in Conception Bay North have been ordered to evacuate Saturday afternoon, while all evacuation orders for Holyrood have been lifted. 

The evacuation order for communities in the Conception Bay North region has now been expanded to include Burnt Point-Gull Island-Northern Bay.

The announcement was made just after 3:15 p.m. NT Saturday. Impacted residents have been asked to travel north on Route 70 to Carbonear, where they are required to register with the Canadian Red Cross at Carbonear Academy.

Alternatively, residents can register by calling 709-729-0921.

Evacuation orders remain in Small Point–Adam's Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove, Western Bay, Salmon Cove, Kingston, Perry's Cove and Ochre Pit Cove. The town of Victoria remains under evacuation alert.

The fire in Conception Bay North has grown to 3,001 hectares in size. 

Small Point–Adam's Cove–Blackhead–Broad Cove Mayor, Curtis Delaney, confirmed Saturday morning that nine homes have been destroyed by the fire. 

Delaney says property owners have been notified and couldn't confirm which communities saw property damage. 

The town says personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces and Ground Search and Rescue are arriving Saturday. 

N.L. Fire duty officer Mark Lawlor says fire crews worked the fire's southern end and around the communities and started building a fire guard throughout the day Friday. Crews continued work on Saturday. 

These updates come as St. John's experienced its second warmest August day on record, according to a social media post by Environment Canada meteorologist Rodney Barney.

Premier John Hogan will be making another announcement to the public at 6:00 p.m. NT Saturday. 

All evacuation orders issued for Holyrood and Conception Bay South have now been lifted, said the Province in a 4:15 p.m. News release on Saturday.  

Conception Bay Highway, or Route 60, is now open as well.

But residents are still being advised that the fire is still active and that fire crews remain on scene to work on hotspots.

The province also wants residents returning to their properties to proceed with caution. If needed, they can seek guidance from town officials and first responders. 

The province is also alerting residents that their well water may be impacted if the fire occurred close to their property. Free well testing is available through the Department of Environment and Climate Change. 

The province says there was good progress made toward suppressing the Holyrood fire on Friday. 

On Saturday morning, Conception Bay South Mayor Darrin Bent said the Holyrood fire remains approximately 22 hectares. He said that there was no open flame on Friday. 

Lawlor said that fire is now just hotspots and ground crews and a helicopter continue to work on it. 

A hose line is in place around the entire fire perimeter and staff continuing to dig out and wet hotspots," Hogan said. 

Earlier in the day, Crime Stoppers announced it would be offering a $5,000 award to anyone who offers information that leads to the identification and arrest of anyone responsible for starting fires in Newfoundland and Labrador.

At Saturday's update, Hogan said he hopes offering this award, along with the ability to provide information anonymously, will lead to a charge or conviction of anyone responsible for starting fires.

"It's very clear that this is an extraordinary circumstance that the province is facing," he said. 

Across the province, there are about 3,000 individuals and 1,500 households under evacuation orders, said Hogan at a 2:00 p.m. Public update. 

Hogan says the government is working to do what they can to support individuals impacted by the fires.

Health Minister John Haggie also announced that households that have evacuated their primary residences will also receive a $500 payment. 

The government will be working with the Red Cross to determine a way to distribute these funds, and more details will be available in the coming days, says Haggie. 

Haggie added the government is consulting with insurance companies and will be developing new policy in the coming days for future fires. 

The Martin Lake fire also still burns near the Bay D'Espoir highway, and cabins in the area remain evacuated. 

That fire increased slightly to about 245 hectares in size, with some growth on the North and South edges, said Hogan. 

Lawlor says an air tanker, helicopter and three planes from New Brunswick, plus ground crews, worked the fire Friday. 

While there are a lot of hot spots, he says there was minimal growth on Friday.

Crews also started a fire guard that made good progress, said Lawlor. 

Hogan said there is a fuel break being constructed as well, and that weather conditions will create challenging fire behaviour throughout the day Saturday.

Two water bombers and a Bird Dog aircraft from Quebec are expected to arrive at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, said Lawlor. The province also says 20 firefighters from Ontario are also arriving.

Hogan said out-of-province supports have more than doubled fire suppression efforts. 

"It also helps to provide a breather for the hard working crew and the volunteers who have been working intensely over the last week," he said.

Hogan anticipates this weekend's weather conditions will lead to very active fire activity throughout Saturday. 

"Winds, unfortunately, are expected to pick up to 20 km/h gusting up to 40 km/h west and southwest today," said Hogan. "So it will be a serious risk throughout the day as we continue to monitor the Kingston Fire."

Hot temperatures and increasing winds over the weekend are anticipated to make for taxing conditions as fire suppression efforts continue, said Lawlor Saturday morning. 

"It's going to be a difficult weekend on the firefighters, but however we're hopeful we can keep those fires contained with the resources we have and the resources that are coming in," said Lawlor. 

Lawlor is also urging people to not have backyard or camp fires over the weekend, and says they're still getting reports of people having open fires. 

"I can't stress enough, especially given the hot, dry conditions we're experiencing right now. No open fires," he said.

---

---