Paddy's Pond fire burning near St. John's is now held

CBC

a day ago

Latest updates:
Paddy's Pond Fire is now being held, at 318 hectares.
Off-road vehicle ban in effect until 11:59 p.m. NT on Wednesday.
Kingston fire is 10,708 hectares.
Martin Lake fire is 1,770 hectares.
203 structures have been destroyed by Kingston fire.
The Paddy's Pond fire near St. John's that has been burning out of control for a week is now being held. That's freeing up resources to help fight other out of control wildfires in Newfoundland and Labrador, says the provincial fire duty officer.
"We're making some great progress there with [it] being held," Bryan Oke told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.
"It primarily means the boundaries are being maintained and crews continue to identify and work any hot spots throughout the day."
Oke said the fire is still 316 hectares.
Progress fighting the Paddy's Pond fire has been made in the past few days, with aerial support being pulled and redirected to other out of control wildfires.
"We anticipate moving military up to the Kingston fire to help provide ground support there. Typically when we change the status of a fire as being held less resources are required," Oke said.
The Kingston and Martin Lake fires continue to burn out of control.
Oke said high relative humidity, cooler temperatures and rain helped reduce the Kingston fire's behaviour Tuesday. There was also aerial support as well as Canadian Armed Forces platoons and British Columbia and N.L. firefighters on site.
He said the fire is still 10,708 hectares and there was no increase in its size from Tuesday.
Oke said Tuesday was also a good day fighting the Martin Lake fire in central Newfoundland. Ground crews were able to access the site and no aerial support was needed.
He said it remains at 1,170 hectares.
He said the significant rainfall in central Newfoundland on Tuesday helped suppress the fires and keep fire behaviour down.
Oke said some light fog in the area might delay aerial support from getting off the ground on Wednesday but the plan is to get ground crews on site to work in protecting structures and identify hazards and risks.
"And continuing actioning any hot spots on the remaining Paddy's Pond and Martin Lake fire," he said.
Meteorologist Angélie Ménard said there are showers and drizzle ending around noon Wednesday, and the Avalon Peninsula and eastern regions will have a cloudy day with strong winds gusting up to 50 kilometres per hour with temperatures in the mid-teens.
Temperatures will rise to high teens to low twenties on Thursday, said Ménard, with moderate winds gusting up to 40 kilometres per hour.
An air quality warning is in effect for the north Avalon Peninsula due to smoke from the Kingston fire, and a special air quality statement is in effect for the area around St. John's. Environment Canada advises people to refrain from strenuous outdoor activities and limit time outdoors.
"We're keeping an eye on it," Ménard said.
On Tuesday morning the smell from thick smoke was noticeable in St. John's but she said that won't likely be the case for Wednesday.
"Looking at this dispersion model it should not be anything like what we'd seen yesterday," said Ménard.
According to the provincial fire hazard map, as of Wednesday morning the vast majority of the island is considered at a low risk of fire, with portions of Bonavista Bay and the Avalon Peninsula at a moderate risk of fire. In Labrador, the fire risk ranges from low to very high.
Orders, alerts in place
As of Tuesday evening, evacuation orders remain in effect for Small Point–Broad Cove–Blackhead–Adam's Cove, Salmon Cove, Western Bay, Kingston, Perry's Cove, Ochre Pit Cove and Burnt Point-Gull Island-Northern Bay.
Evacuation alerts, where residents are advised to be ready to leave, are in effect for Victoria, Job's Cove and Freshwater.
A regional state of emergency is in place for a portion of the Bay de Verde Peninsula, from Bristol's Hope to Whiteway.
Access to cabin areas in Rushy Pond Road, Martin Lake Road and Miguels Lake Road are closed and the area is under an evacuation advisory.
The off-road vehicle restriction remains in place for forested areas where fire index is high, very high or extreme. It will be in place until 11:59 p.m. NT on Wednesday, when it will be reviewed based on fire conditions.
Off-road vehicles include ATVs, quads, side-by-sides and dirt bikes.
Fines for breaching the provincewide fire ban also remain in place.