A wildfire that started Monday afternoon near Chance Harbour on the Bonavista Peninsula has destroyed an undetermined number of cabins and grown to 1,200 hectares, making it the largest active fire in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to provincial officials.
Provincial fire duty officer Mark Lawlor told CBC News that the fire began early Monday afternoon and rapidly expanded from zero to 500 hectares within hours, then doubled overnight to 1,200 hectares by Tuesday morning.
The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture reported the fire covered approximately 12 square kilometres as of Monday night. The blaze remains out of control, according to the provincial fire dashboard.
Citing wind, warm temperatures, and low humidity as contributing factors, Lawlor said,
"The conditions were perfect for it"
Evacuations and Property Damage
An evacuation order was issued Monday for the Chance Harbour Resource Road cabin area. Multiple cabin owners reported fleeing by boat after spotting smoke and hearing water bombers overhead.
"I could smell smoke, but I couldn't see it"
Cabin owner Patsy Humby told CBC News, "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I think we're in trouble.' It was big."
Ryan Pitts, a local resident who surveyed the area by boat Tuesday morning, reported via social media that most cabins in the Puddin' Cove area had been destroyed, while Warricks Cove remained mostly intact.
"A lot of cabins lost. Out of 20 or 21 in Puddin' Cove there is only 2 left," Pitts wrote on social media.
"By the time I got out there, it was just consuming everything,"
Describing his attempt to help evacuate cabin owners Monday, Pitts said, "What can you say? You're watching it all burn and there's nothing you can do."
Fire Response
Three water bombers, one helicopter, a bird dog aircraft, and ground crews are fighting the fire, with an incident management team in place, according to the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.
The Lethbridge and Area Volunteer Fire Department reported it was on scene supporting forestry crews.
Lawlor said the fire is moving northeast toward the coast, away from the communities of Jamestown and Winterbrook, which are 5.5 and 6.3 kilometres from the fire respectively.
Provincial Fire Situation
The Chance Harbour fire is one of nine active wildfires burning in Newfoundland and Labrador as of Tuesday morning, with two classified as out of control. A provincewide fire ban implemented Friday remains in effect.
Other active fires include:
- Northwest Brook: 1,000 hectares, out of control
- Pamehac Brook North (Badger): 1,034 hectares, under control
- Burnt Dam 1: 131 hectares, being held
- Maccles Lake South: 2.3 hectares, under control
The province has recorded 160 active fires so far this year.
Ongoing Concerns
With temperatures forecast to remain in the high 20s to 30s Celsius, that extreme fire behavior is expected to continue. Lawlor told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show,
"It looks pretty well like we're going to have three nice days … so I can't really predict [a return to cabins]"
The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture suspended all forest harvesting operating permits in areas where the Fire Weather Index is extreme, effective immediately.
Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest concentration of cabins in Canada, with approximately 90 cabins per 1,000 people.
The cause of the Chance Harbour fire remains under investigation.
Main Image by Ryan Pitts
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