Latest news with #Carbonear
CBC
a day ago
- Climate
- CBC
'People's nerves are frazzled': C.B.N evacuees say they're living in fear
An out-of-control wildfire continues to burn in Conception Bay North, forcing more communities to evacuate over the weekend. At the evacuation centre in Carbonear, people said they felt stressed and anxious. Gerard and Eileen Howell evacuated their Northern Bay home on Saturday. "This time tomorrow my house could be gone," Gerard Howell said on Saturday. He's been living there for 28 years. "I'm still into a bit of a daze," he said. "I'm hoping [to] wake up and just — this was just a dream." Eileen Howell said the most important thing is that everyone is safe. "You can replace everything else. You can't replace a life," she said. Conception Bay North resident Scott Chandler told Radio-Canada that he already knows his home is gone. He said he's been keeping his mind off of it by volunteering. "I'm just glad that the community got out safely," he said. But Chandler said the number of fires this year have people feeling scared. "We are living in fear." It wasn't Chandler's first time being evacuated due to a wildfire. He said he used to live in High Level, Alta., and he was evacuated from that community for more than two weeks due to a wildfire a few years ago. 12 fires, 3 evacuations this year Susan Rose is a town councillor in Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove. She told Radio-Canada on Friday that this is the area's 12th fire since May. On May 7, the town had its first evacuation. It was then evacuated again three weeks later. Now, people are out of their homes for a third time. "Our town has been terrorized," said Rose. She said she believes an arsonist is lighting the fires. Rose said the summer has been extremely stressful for the community, and firefighters are overworked. "They're working day and night. They're exhausted. And we still have a long way to go." Community support On Sunday morning, Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove Mayor Curtis Delaney said weather conditions guaranteed a challenging day for fire suppression. "People's nerves are frazzled. The uncertainty is, I think, the biggest issue right now," said Delaney. "When is this fire going to be out? When can we get back?" In the meantime, Delaney recommends that community members lean on each other for support. "These are trying times. There's going to be a lot of rough days ahead. But if we pull together as we've done in other cases, we'll get through this," he said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
How are animals evacuating N.L. wildfires? These goats caught a ride with the Mounties
People across Conception Bay had to respond quickly to evacuation orders this week due to two raging wildfires. For animal owners, evacuating also meant finding somewhere to put their animals. In Holyrood, one rancher had to figure out how to move 29 horses. Another pet owner had to call emergency services for help evacuating nine animals. In Carbonear, an animal rescue helped all kinds of animals. When the wildfire started in Holyrood, N.L. on Monday, the first thing Sliding K Ranch owner Katrina Butler thought about was her horses. "Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was let's just get them out … then we can worry about where they went," Butler told the St. John's Morning Show on Tuesday. Butler said her own trailer can only hold four horses, so she had to ask for help from others on Facebook. She said people brought eight trailers to help with the effort. The horses are now safe at four different stables in St. John's. Butler said she is grateful to all of the people who offered help. "It was pretty awesome to see everybody show up, and come together and offer everything that they could." Nine animals and no car Evacuating wasn't easy for Holyrood resident Leah Snook, who lives with her mother, cousin, and nine animals. Snook said she only heard about the evacuation through social media. "We were kind of watching all these cars going in and out our road, and we'd walk up to the end of the driveway, and no one would really stop to tell us what was going on." Snook said if they didn't have Facebook, she wouldn't have known what was happening. She also said no authorities went to their door to tell them to evacuate. Once she learned she had to evacuate, Snook said she had to figure out how to get out with two cats, two dogs, five chickens — and no car. She said family members tried to come pick them up, but they were turned around. "We actually had to call 911, and get search and rescue to come up and get us," she said. While Snook waited, she said they harnessed the dogs, put the cats in carriers, and placed the chickens in plastic tubs. Eventually, search and rescue crews brought them to the evacuation centre. Snook said the response could have been better. "We were kind of waiting around for three hours to figure out who was going to come pick us up when we had no transportation." Snook said the animals were held at the evacuation centre for some time, but now they're staying with family. Four goats evacuated by RCMP Meanwhile, a wildfire in Kingston, N.L. also forced many Conception Bay North communities to evacuate this week. A Carbonear-based animal rescue group decided to help by collecting donations for evacuees, and providing a place to put their animals. New Life Rescue volunteer, Shannon Layman, said they collected donations at Re-Tail New Life Rescue Thrift Store in Carbonear. "Anything from toiletries, to food for the animals," said Layman. "And when we get a call from the evacuation centre to send anything down, then [a volunteer] goes with a truckload." Layman said the backyard of one of the volunteers seems to be turning into a small farm. She said the Mounties transported four goats to the backyard — driving them there in the back of their cruisers.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Black iceberg spotted off Labrador could be result of an asteroid strike
A rare black iceberg photographed off the coast of Labrador has been making the rounds of social media on this planet, but its unusual colour could be the result of it carrying material from another world. The picture first surfaced last month after a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Hallur Antoniussen, 64, was working aboard the Saputi, a factory freezer trawler operated by the Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation, off the coast of Labrador in mid-May, when he spotted the black berg. 'I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,' he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning show. 'This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost … in a diamond shape.' He took his picture from about six kilometres away, estimating the size of the visible portion at about three times that of a bungalow home. That would mean a submerged portion equal to about 27 more bungalows. 'It's something you don't see very often, and a camera is not something I run around (with) when I'm working,' Antoniussen told the CBC. 'So I just ran to my room and took my phone and snapped this picture.' Comments peppered his Facebook post, suggesting that the colour was toxic gas trapped in ice, or perhaps a rare mineral. Once the photo began circulating more widely — news organizations in Britain, Israel, India, Italy and elsewhere have written about it — the theories grew wilder. A story Monday in Vice magazine opened with the headline: 'That Ominous Black Iceberg Probably Isn't a Sign From the Aliens,' clearly not willing to rule out extraterrestrials entirely. But the truth could actually be in a similar vein. Dr. Lev Tarasov, a Memorial University physicist and glacial earth systems modeller, told the CBC that the berg's hue likely came from the glacier from which it calved picking up rocks and dirt on its way to the sea. 'There's parts of the ice that are actually flowing up to 20 kilometres per year, which would mean that … the ice is moving maybe a few metres every hour,' he said. They pick up rocks and dirt along the way. Some of that debris could have come from volcanic ash from an eruption in Greenland or Iceland. And some could have come from outer space. Back in 2018, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks using ice-penetrating radar discovered a 31-kilometre impact crater in northwestern Greenland, formed by an asteroid strike. It would have been relatively recent in geological terms, perhaps 11,000 years ago, or as far back as a few million. Tarasov estimated some some of the ice in the berg is at least 1,000 years old, but that it could be much more ancient, perhaps as old as 100,000 years. Either way, the dirt that gives it its colour probably hasn't seen the 'light of day for hundreds of thousands of years.' Icebergs are generally paler in colour, and Antoniussen's picture handily contains a more normal specimen off to one side. Most icebergs look white because they contain tiny air bubbles and ice-crystal edges that reflect all wavelengths of visible light. There are others that look blue or even green, but black is out-of-this-world rare. More great whites are visiting N.S. beaches. Is it time for a shark warning system like Cape Cod's? Calgary researchers discover that life has a literal glow Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
National Post
18-06-2025
- Science
- National Post
Black iceberg spotted off Labrador could be result of an asteroid strike
A rare black iceberg photographed off the coast of Labrador has been making the rounds of social media on this planet, but its unusual colour could be the result of it carrying material from another world. Article content The picture first surfaced last month after a fish harvester from Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Article content Article content Hallur Antoniussen, 64, was working aboard the Saputi, a factory freezer trawler operated by the Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation, off the coast of Labrador in mid-May, when he spotted the black berg. Article content Article content 'I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it,' he told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning show. 'This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost … in a diamond shape.' Article content Article content He took his picture from about six kilometres away, estimating the size of the visible portion at about three times that of a bungalow home. That would mean a submerged portion equal to about 27 more bungalows. Article content 'It's something you don't see very often, and a camera is not something I run around (with) when I'm working,' Antoniussen told the CBC. 'So I just ran to my room and took my phone and snapped this picture.' Article content Comments peppered his Facebook post, suggesting that the colour was toxic gas trapped in ice, or perhaps a rare mineral. Once the photo began circulating more widely — news organizations in Britain, Israel, India, Italy and elsewhere have written about it — the theories grew wilder. Article content A story Monday in Vice magazine opened with the headline: 'That Ominous Black Iceberg Probably Isn't a Sign From the Aliens,' clearly not willing to rule out extraterrestrials entirely. Article content Article content But the truth could actually be in a similar vein. Dr. Lev Tarasov, a Memorial University physicist and glacial earth systems modeller, told the CBC that the berg's hue likely came from the glacier from which it calved picking up rocks and dirt on its way to the sea. Article content Article content 'There's parts of the ice that are actually flowing up to 20 kilometres per year, which would mean that … the ice is moving maybe a few metres every hour,' he said. Article content They pick up rocks and dirt along the way. Some of that debris could have come from volcanic ash from an eruption in Greenland or Iceland. And some could have come from outer space. Article content Back in 2018, scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks using ice-penetrating radar discovered a 31-kilometre impact crater in northwestern Greenland, formed by an asteroid strike. It would have been relatively recent in geological terms, perhaps 11,000 years ago, or as far back as a few million. Article content Tarasov estimated some some of the ice in the berg is at least 1,000 years old, but that it could be much more ancient, perhaps as old as 100,000 years. Either way, the dirt that gives it its colour probably hasn't seen the 'light of day for hundreds of thousands of years.'
CBC
04-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Rare black iceberg spotted off Labrador coast could be 100,000 years old, prof says
A rare black iceberg spotted off the coast of Labrador is making a splash on social media after a fish harvester living in Carbonear, N.L., took a photo of it while fishing for shrimp last month. Originally from the Faroe Islands, Hallur Antoniussen was working with a crew on board the Saputi factory freezer trawler off the coast of Labrador in mid-May. He'd never seen an iceberg like this one before. "I have seen icebergs that are rolled, what they say have rolled in the beach with some rocks in it. This one here is completely different. It's not only that he is all black. He is almost ... in a diamond shape," Antoniussen said in an interview with CBC Radio's Labrador Morning. He spotted the berg after going up the ship's crane when they were more than 100 kilometres offshore in the Hopedale channel, located between Nain and Hopedale. A crew member had counted 47 icebergs in the area just the day before. Antoniussen doesn't think it's a berg that tipped over — or rolled on the beach — picking up dirt and rocks after getting grounded. He's seen a lot of icebergs over his 50 years of fishing off of Greenland, and more recently off the Labrador coast since 1989. The 64-year-old said it was hard to estimate the size of the iceberg at sea but figured it was at least three times the size of a regular bungalow. He took a picture from roughly six kilometres away. "It's something you don't see very often, and a camera is not something I run around [with] when I'm working. So, I just ran to my room and took my phone and snapped this picture," he said. Antoniussen said the berg looked like a rock with lots of really dark greys and black veins in it, and quickly ruled out that a shadow was being cast on it. He took the photo to show other crew members on the fishing boat. Then Antoniussen posted it on Facebook, and it soon took off, garnering hundreds of comments after being shared around. Commenters have mused about everything from aliens to precious metals, and even dinosaurs being hidden in the ice. "It's an Oil Berg," said one poster. "Looks like a giant [woolly] mammoth!" exclaimed another. Antoniessen is clear: this is a real photo. Other people wondered if the iceberg has volcanic ash in it, a result of some ancient eruption. An impressive iceberg Lev Tarasov, a Memorial University professor of physical oceanography, doesn't rule that last theory out completely. Tarasov says there are volcanoes beneath the ice caps of Iceland, and while he's not exactly sure about volcanoes in Greenland, he added that scientists have measured hotspots in the landmass's central region. Like Antoniussen, he hasn't seen an iceberg quite like this one before. Tarasov observed smaller versions of the black iceberg during his fieldwork on the Kangerlussuaq Fjord in Greenland last summer -— just not as impressive, he said. He guesses it could be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old, but could also contain ice that's older than 100,000 years old. Tarasov said ice from all over Greenland is slowly converging toward its coastline, and when it gets there, it breaks off to form icebergs. Those icebergs can take one to three years before reaching the Newfoundland and Labrador coastline. A terrestrial journey Tarasov says it's a reminder just how dynamic ice can be. Ice streams, also known as outlet glaciers, move much faster than other parts of the ice sheet; they carry ice from the interior, traveling through deep valleys or channels out to the coast. They pick up rocks and dirt along the way. "There's parts of the ice that are actually flowing up to 20 kilometres per year, which would mean that ... the ice is moving maybe a few metres every hour," Tarasov said. The bottom of the ice grinds against the earth's crust, he explained. There's a whole lot of churning, turning all that rock and sediment into a powder that then spreads up through columns of ice. It would take a long time for that ground-up rock to spread so uniformly throughout the ice, Tarasov said. Tip of the iceberg Tarasov theorizes that the black berg was probably part of a much larger chunk of ice before it broke off into the water. "Over time, as it travels around Baffin Bay and down the coast of Labrador, it's melting away. So I think a lot of that ice is melted away. Maybe the part that's clean is underneath, right? Again, 90 per cent of the ice is underneath the water. So we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg on top," he said. Tarasov thinks the iceberg rolled over at some point, and is now showing its underbelly. He also offers another possible explanation for the iceberg's intriguing colour. There is strong evidence showing that an asteroid struck the northwest corner of Greenland some 12,000 years ago, he said. The iceberg could have some dust from that meteorite strike if it came from the area. No matter what, the ice likely isn't new: it's quite possible the dirt on the iceberg may not have seen the "light of day for hundreds of thousands of years," Tarasov said.
