Paradise expects to keep its town hall doors closed for months after fire damage
A fire on Feb. 9 at the Paradise town depot is keeping the depot and the town hall closed for the next few months, says Mayor Dan Bobbett.
The fire is believed to have started in a truck that was preparing for snow clearing.
"The assessments and the inspections are still ongoing at the town hall and the depot. And what we do know is that they will be closed for several months," Bobbett told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show on Thursday.
The inspection will determine what remediation is needed, he said, so the buildings can reopen.
In the meantime, staff who worked out of the town hall are pivoting so they can carry on with their duties in temporary locations, said Bobbett.
"We apologize right now because the town hall is closed for that in-person service," he said.
The town has 98 staff who work out of the town hall, and some are in the process of getting set up at the Paradise Double Ice Complex.
Earlier this month, a fire broke out at the depot next to Paradise town hall. (Angus Somerton/CBC)
"We have desks set up in various open areas to try to get staff in to continue on with services. So we ask the public to be patient with us for a little while, while we get those services in place," said Bobbett.
He said in-person services will be available again soon and some services are still available online.
Damaged equipment
The fire has put some equipment out of commission, including a trail groomer.
Bobbett said the town usually has five sidewalk plows. Right now it's using two on loan from Mount Pearl and Conception Bay South.
"We're still continuing with sidewalk clearing, but we're going to be delayed," he said.
Bobbett said most of the town's snow clearing equipment was in the depot's yard during the fire and escaped damage.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Hurricane Erin expected to bring wind, strong waves to Atlantic provinces
Hurricane Erin will bring some wind and strong waves to the Atlantic region over the next few days, but will likely be too far offshore to bring rain. As of Tuesday morning, Erin was a Category 3 hurricane, and is set to curve northward over the next few days. CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said there continues to be good agreement among the forecasting models that the hurricane will track south of the Maritimes and Newfoundland this weekend. However, the storm is expected to grow in size over the next two to three days and will be very large as it tracks through the region. Even though the centre of the storm will likely be well to the south, Atlantic Canada may still feel the storm passing through, Snoddon said. Increasingly gusty northeasterly winds are looking set for Friday into Saturday for the southern Maritimes, and for Saturday into Sunday for southeastern Newfoundland. It's also likely the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia and the southeast coast of Newfoundland will experience pounding waves Friday and Saturday, with the threat of dangerous rip currents, Snoddon said. MORE TOP STORIES
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Annapolis County wildfire continues to burn out of control despite rain overnight
Crews will be back at the scene of an out-of-control wildfire burning in Nova Scotia's Annapolis County today. The blaze near Long Lake remains out of control and has grown to an estimated 1,977 hectares, or roughly 20 square kilometres, Natural Resources said in update posted to social media on Sunday evening. It said the wildfire had advanced past Godfrey Lake to the intersection of Fairns and West Dalhousie roads, near a number of homes that have been evacuated, and to the south side of Spectacle Lake. Officials have evacuated 107 homes in the West Dalhousie area, affecting roughly 215 people. Dustin Enslow, the deputy warden of the Municipality of the County of Annapolis, said rain that fell overnight is providing some hope for crews. "At this point, there hasn't been any additional evacuations orders," Enslow told CBC's Information Morning Cape Breton on Monday morning. CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said between 15 and 20 millimetres of rain fell in the area of the wildfire overnight Sunday. Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection for the Natural Resources Department, said Sunday that while rain is appreciated, it wouldn't be enough to make a measurable impact. Enslow said evacuees are on edge. "They are very anxious and nervous and worried about what's to come, but at the same time, they are thankful for the support of everyone who is actually fighting the fire and the overwhelming support from the rest of Nova Scotia," said Enslow. The update from Natural Resources said a large ground force of more than 200 firefighters — including 77 from the department, 120 local firefighters, 20 from Ontario and five from Prince Edward Island — were on the scene trying to save homes on Sunday night. Two contracted helicopters were dropping water on the fire, and as of 7:45 p.m. local time, there were no reports of damage to any structure. Tingley said sprinklers, hoses and barriers were in place to protect houses in the area. In a news release on Sunday afternoon, the federal government announced it has approved a request for assistance from Nova Scotia. The full extent of the resources that will be deployed is not yet known, but Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management and community resilience, said the government is working with the Canadian Armed Forces and other partners to "ensure Nova Scotia has the support it needs." According to Patricia Jreige, spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Department of Emergency Management, the province asked Ottawa for permission to use CFB Greenwood to land and refuel the four skimmer planes that have arrived from the Northwest Territories. Evacuees allowed to briefly return home Over the weekend, evacuees were allowed to briefly return home with an escort to pick up clothes and grab essential items like medications. Enslow said Sunday that most of the people affected are staying with family and friends, but others have been camping. There are 13 wildfires burning in the province. Long Lake, which started last Wednesday, is the only one listed as out of control. Environment Canada's Air Quality Health Index forecasts a low risk around the province but notes the possibility of moderate risk in some areas due to the smoke. MORE STORIES
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Bay d'Espoir Highway to reopen Monday, while some evacuation advisories remain in effect
As of Monday 8 a.m. NT, traffic will resume its normal flow on the Bay d'Espoir Highway, though some cabin areas remain closed due to the risk posed by the Martin Lake wildfire. In a statement released on Sunday evening, the provincial government said the highway will fully return to normal operations in the area between the Sunday Pond Resource Road to the Cat Brook turnaround area. However, access to cabin areas on Rushy Pond Road, Martin Lake Road and Miguels Lake Road will remain closed and the evacuation advisory for those areas remains in effect. The province said all other cabin access areas off the Bay d'Espoir Highway will reopen effective 8 a.m. NT on Aug. 18, including Great Rattling Brook and Paradise Lake. Despite this, government cautions that the fire is still active and out of control, and that an increase in fire behaviour could potentially lead to the reclosure of the highway. Also known as Route 360, the critical roadway for the Connaigre Peninsula partially reopened over the weekend with traffic moving in one direction at a time, escorted by government officials and the RCMP. As of Sunday evening, the Martin Lake fire measures approximately 1,770 hectares, down from around 2,100 on Friday. Forestry officials say the reduced size is due to new mapping that was possible thanks to less smoke in the area. Four water bombers, a bird dog, and bucketing helicopters fought the Martin Lake fire throughout the day, as ground crews focused on structure protection around the Rushy Pond cabin area. This news comes ahead of another briefing from Premier John Hogan on the status of the wildfires in the province, which is scheduled to occur at 10:15 a.m. NT Monday. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
