Irishtown, N.B., wildfire is contained, evacuation advisory lifted

Global News

2 days ago

A wildfire outside Moncton near Irishtown has been contained, and an evacuation advisory has been lifted, New Brunswick officials said.
The wildfire near Irishtown had been threatening as many as 900 structures, with about 1,500 people told to be ready to evacuate if necessary under the advisory that was lifted at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The downgrading of the Irishtown blaze left a fire burning near Miramichi as the only out-of-control fire in the province.
That fire had grown overnight to nearly 13.5 square kilometres from about 11 square kilometres on Tuesday.
Premier Susan Holt told reporters earlier Wednesday that there were 'promising results' in the fight against the Irishtown fire.
'And while we have put dozens of people and air resources and others on the Miramichi fire that continues to grow,' she said.
Story continues below advertisement
A situational update posted by the province at 8 p.m. reported a total of 13 active wildfires burning across the province.
People have been asked to stay out of Crown land while the risk of wildfires remains high. This means hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted, trails through woods have been closed, and camping is allowed only in campgrounds.
2:13
New Brunswick addresses wildfire crisis in latest press conference
Natural Resources Minister John Herron said rain would be needed to help battle the province's fires.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Environment Canada has a thunderstorm warning in effect for Miramichi, and a thunderstorm watch for other parts of the province for Thursday afternoon. There is rain forecast for some areas in the morning.
Potential lightning strikes, combined with ongoing conditions, present a high risk for additional fires, Herron said in a news release.
Story continues below advertisement
'While we welcome any rain we may see later today or tomorrow, we are concerned about the lightning that might come with it,' he said.
Earlier, Herron told reporters that about five millimetres of rain helps firefighters by giving them one day's time to battle the blaze, while 50 millimetres or more would help bring a wildfire under control.
'It's going to require that help from the skies … when we have that window of opportunity, when things get dampened, we need to go at it.'
New Brunswick, he noted, has been contending with a heat wave, seeing temperatures in the mid-30s.
Herron said three firefighters were taken to hospital with heat exhaustion over the past three days and are now doing well.
Nick Brown, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said there were 14 air tankers, three helicopters and 30 out-of-province firefighters — five each from P.E.I. and Maine, and 20 from Nova Scotia — helping local personnel tackle the wildfires.
Holt also asked people in New Brunswick to conserve water due to a lack of rain.
A precipitation anomaly map shared by the province earlier this week showed dry conditions were particularly pronounced in northeastern and southern New Brunswick, especially around Saint John.
Story continues below advertisement
'We are seeing significantly dry conditions. We know people have wells that they're worried about. There's streams and river beds that do not have the kind of water that we're used to here in New Brunswick,' Holt said.
'It would be helpful if all New Brunswickers take steps to conserve water and maybe choose recreational activities that are new … maybe try pickleball. Who knows.'
— With files from Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver