A water bomber drops water onto a wildfire burning in the Paddy's Pond area just outside St. John's, N.L., on Aug. 13.Elling Lien/The Canadian Press
Newfoundland officials lifted evacuation alerts for the communities close to the capital of St. John’s on the weekend as cool weather helped crews contain one of several out-of-control wildfires in the province.
The wildfire at Paddy’s Pond, about 15 kilometres southwest of the city’s downtown core, had about 20,000 people on evacuation alert. The provincial government said in a news release on Sunday that crews were holding the fire “steady” and containing any hotspots.
The fires in Newfoundland are among several in Atlantic Canada that have destroyed houses and other property, forced people to flee their homes and prompted the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to impose restrictions on outdoor activities.
In Nova Scotia, a wildfire in Annapolis County, located in the western part of the province, had grown and could force people out of their homes. Officials declared a state of emergency there on Saturday.
There were six active wildfires in Newfoundland and Labrador, including three burning out-of-control across the island.
Light rainfall on the weekend provided some relief, and forecasted lower temperatures are promising signs for firefighters on the front lines.
The Kingston wildfire, stretching 9,519 hectares along Conception Bay’s northwestern coast, didn’t grow overnight, officials said. However, residents of Freshwater district were placed under an evacuation alert Saturday as officials warned the fire could creep closer.
Another wildfire further west at Martin Lake also remains active. Firefighters are working to protect cabins in the area.
The province deployed 11 water bombers along with heavy-capacity helicopters to fight the flames from above on the weekend. Ground crews are working to contain the Kingston wildfire at its northern and southern boundaries.
In a statement, the City of St. John’s thanked local fire departments, the Canadian Armed Forces and firefighters from B.C. for suppressing the Paddy’s Pond wildfire. The city is working with the province to identify how to help other communities.
“We are devastated to see the destruction caused by the Kingston fire. Our thoughts are with the residents, property owners, and all those affected by the damage,” city officials said on Sunday.
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The RCMP investigation into the Kingston wildfire, which has destroyed 100 structures, including one elementary school, is continuing.
Health services resumed elective and non-urgent procedures in St. John’s, which were temporarily suspended owing to the wildfires.
The Nova Scotia fire, known as the Long Lake wildfire, is spread over 11 square kilometres and has forced the evacuation of about 100 homes in the heavily wooded West Dalhousie area, about 125 kilometres west of Halifax.
“These are not favourable firefighting conditions,” said Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with Nova Scotia’s Natural Resources Department. “It’s very, very dry.”
Two contracted helicopters were helping local firefighters along with crews from Prince Edward Island and Ontario, he said.
Environment Canada has forecast up to 15 millimetres of rain for Sunday night with showers ending Monday morning for Halifax and the surrounding areas.
Officials said they were also keeping a watch on Erin, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025. The storm wasn’t expected to directly affect the U.S. East Coast, but by doubling or tripling in size it could bring rip currents all along the coast.
“That’s a scary thought,” said Nova Scotia forest protection director Jim Rudderham.
“We certainly have our meteorologists and our fire behaviour people watching very closely on anything that could happen with anomalies and weather. We’ll continue to watch that and make plans accordingly.”
With reports from The Canadian Press