80 Canadian Armed Forces members help fight Avalon Peninsula wildfires

CBC

2 days ago

Wildfire firefighting goes beyond extinguishing the flames.
In the area of Paddy's Pond on Friday, Canadian Armed Forces Lt. Matthew Kay said 23 members of the Forces were conducting a fighting effort that could be mistaken for a construction site.
He said it involved digging up the burnt ground.
"Making sure there's no hot spots that are going to flare up and cause future fires," Kay told CBC News.
The province's forestry department was overseeing the military personnel as they worked with firefighters who were hosing down areas of the ground that had burned.
"We're well away from the fire," Kay said. "We're taking down trees sometimes, so just making sure we have a clear berth."
Kay is from Alberta, and witnessed the Fort McMurray wildfire in 2016.
"I understand what these guys are going through here with these fires. I understand it's tough," he said. " Similar to here, everything kind of just happened so fast."
Kay was one of 80 military personnel helping to fight the two out-of-control wildfires on the Avalon Peninsula.
As of Friday evening, the Kingston wildfire in Conception Bay North was 9,838 hectares and had destroyed about 100 homes and an elementary school. The Paddy's Pond wildfire — which put parts of some of the province's largest municipalities on evacuation orders and alerts — was 248 hectares.
Craig Coady, director of the province's wildfire program, said the first priority in fighting wildfires is the safety of people. After that, it's protecting properties and infrastructure.
"The question we have to ask ourselves when planning out operations each day: Are we putting our first responders or our citizens at undue risk?"
Kay said safety is also a priority for the Forces.
"We're not professionals in this, so the guys are down there working alongside the Newfoundland forestry officials," he said. "We're happy to come out here and help everyone that's in need."