Smoke from a forest fire in central Newfoundland on August 7. The Canadian Press
The worst wildfires to hit Newfoundland and Labrador in more than 60 years have stranded hundreds of travelers who had returned to the island’s south coast for a series of festivals and summer gatherings as officials scramble to transport food to communities cut off by the massive fire. .
People living in more than a dozen small communities on Newfoundland’s south coast have been stuck there since last week, when wildfires once again forced the closure of the Bay d’Espoir Highway, the remote and heavily forested artery that is the only road link to the rest of the province.
Travelers trying to leave the area abandon their vehicles and pile onto ferries that have been overwhelmed with people waiting to get off.
Many of those stranded in these small communities had traveled for the Come Home Year celebrations, a series of civic events and concerts that encouraged Newfoundlanders living off-island to return to reunite.
In Harbor Breton, a community of about 1,600 people, more than 300 people who had come to town for a Saturday concert as part of those festivities were trapped by wildfires. The main act of the concert still performed, but had to be carried on a fishing boat because the road to the city was impassable.
In a part of the province where some isolated ports still rely on a network of small ferries as a crucial transport link, the fires and road closures have created a logistical nightmare.
“You can imagine the chaos that begins. I got a message from 140 people this morning saying they had to get out,” said Steven Crewe, mayor of Hermitage-Sandyville, a town of about 400 people on Newfoundland’s south coast.
“I just told them to get in line for the ferry and I hope you’re one of the lucky ones who gets to get on.”
The fires are affecting much of central Newfoundland, where a state of emergency that already included areas around Grand Falls-Windsor, Bishop’s Falls and the Connaigre Peninsula was extended Sunday as flames spread even more out of control. The blazes are Newfoundland’s largest since 1961, Premier Andrew Furey said.
Mr. Crewe said he is trying to coordinate an emergency helicopter shipment, scheduled for Tuesday, of basic foods such as baby formula, milk and bread. Harbor Breton’s deputy mayor said the three grocery stores in his community will run out of food in the next day or two.
Roy Drake owns one of those stores, and there isn’t a jug of milk or a loaf of bread left on any of his shelves, he said.
“Things are starting to get stressful for most residents,” Drake said in a phone interview from city hall. “We need to get food in a day or so to help us. Not just for Harbor Breton, but for the whole region.”
Meanwhile, health officials were evacuating cancer patients by helicopter and boat, evacuating others to a hospital in Gander. Pregnant women were being told to avoid the Grand Falls-Windsor hospital, where staff said they can’t turn on the air conditioning because of the thick smoke.
An emergency shelter that had been set up to house stranded travelers in Grand Falls had to be moved to Deer Lake, more than 200 kilometers to the west, as the fires grew. Although no evacuation orders had been issued as of Monday morning, buses were being arranged to take people concerned about air quality out of the affected areas to Deer Lake.
On the South Shore, where salmon framing is a major employer, aquaculture companies ship massive cargoes of fish feed, a crucial supply normally carried each day by a fleet of transport trucks, by ship while the highway remains closed.
“We only have one way in and one way out,” said Mr. Crewe. “This situation shows that we have to get another route here, I don’t care what I do. This affects everything from medical appointments and surgeries to food and workplaces. “
The fires began consuming tracts of forest around the Bay d’Espoir Highway after a lightning strike on July 24, during one of the hottest and driest summers on record in central Newfoundland. As of Sunday, the provincial government reported four active fires covering about 10,800 hectares.
Fire crews worked around the clock, destroying wide buffers along hydraulic routes, trying to create firebreaks to slow the flames. Water bombs, including planes sent from Quebec, continued to attack the fires from above. Canadian Forces soldiers, along with personnel from several federal agencies, were helping to coordinate evacuation plans.
The prime minister said changing wind patterns were making the situation difficult to manage, but so far the flames had not reached any communities. Rain was forecast for Tuesday, but it was unclear how much precipitation would reach the worst-hit areas.
At a press conference on Sunday alongside Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Derrick Bragg and Department of Natural Resources Incident Commander Craig Coady, Mr. Furey said conditions had changed rapidly over 36 hours and they were concerned about the significant impact of the smoke.
Mr. Coady said the wildfires will likely continue to burn out of control due to dry and windy conditions complicating firefighting efforts.
With a report from The Canadian Press
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