All residents to return home after Miscou forest fire weakens Tuesday

All residents on New Brunswick's Miscou Island will be allowed to return to the homes they left four days ago to be safe from a forest fire that was burning out of control.

Provincial forest ranger and incident commander Roland Roy said Tuesday night that the residents will be escorted home, followed by utility services.

"Residents will be allowed in tonight after we transition our firefighters out," said Roy.

Journalists will not be allowed into the area for "safety reasons."

Roy said the fire continues to smoulder and firefighters are likely to remain in the area until the weekend.

While conditions on Tuesday evening were good, the Miscou fire department will also patrol the area all night to ensure the residents' safety.

"We had a good day. We were able to contour the fire, it's contained," he said. "There's still smoke but I'm quite confident they'll have a good evening."

25 homes evacuated

The fire started around 4 p.m. Saturday and forced the evacuation of 25 homes.

Roy said earlier Tuesday that an estimated 50 hectares remained affected by the fire on Miscou, a small island of about 500 people at the end of the Acadian Peninsula in northeastern New Brunswick.

• 'Like walls of flames': Miscou forest fire hasn't grown but still 'out of control' 
• Miscou Island forest fire forces evacuation of 25 homes

Firefighters were able to secure the perimeter of the fire, he said, which is "good news."

"It means there are now flare-ups on the outskirts of the fire and there's less smoke than we had yesterday," he said.

"That's always our objective to get a better hold on the fire and we are doing that today."

He added that the fire will not be considered out until a few days after the last smoke has gone.

"Since it's near residences, we will be even more vigilant," he said.

Forest ranger Greg Furlotte, the chief of logistics for the firefighting operation, said the fire was about 80 per cent contained as of Tuesday morning, and firefighters had made progress since Monday.

"Yesterday, we had really good conditions for fighting this fire, so we're looking good right now," Furlotte said. "We're optimistic."

Smelled the smoke

Francie Hamilton, who owns a home near the centre of the fire, said she and her husband, Paul, first smelled the smoke when the fire started on Saturday.

They tried to keep it at bay by watering their trees until a firefighter came and asked them to leave the property.

Hamilton said she didn't grab any of her belongings because "I didn't want to hold her up."

The couple are staying with friends and consider themselves lucky. Not everyone has someone to go to, Hamilton said.

She added that the firefighters worked near their house for three days.

Hamilton suspects it may be charred and warped, but she knows "it's there," she said.

"They've been heroic. We have everything to be grateful for."

More help on the way

Nine firefighters were brought in Tuesday morning from other parts of New Brunswick.

Bertin said trucks were bringing in water from a nearby pond to fight the flames.

Collet said fire crews have also returned home to New Brunswick from battling the recent forest fires in British Columbia. 

He said those firefighters have had some down time. Instead of working directly on the fire, they have been in supporting roles such as bringing meals out to those on the front lines. 

"Some of them got some pretty good rest for a couple of days, so now they're ready to go," he said.

"We're hoping they can keep it contained today."

The water bombers haven't been in the area since Sunday but are available if needed.

"We haven't had the need for putting water on aerial attack," said Collet.

Officials still aren't certain about the cause of the fire and a full investigation is not yet underway.

Wind a factor in firefighting

Collet said Miscou is seeing a lot more wind compared with mainland New Brunswick, which is a factor in fighting the fire.

"It sounds like the wind is going to be a little bit higher for them again today," he said.

The province is still under a no burn order, which was issued at 1:35 p.m. on Sunday and with dry temperatures, Collet said fires can start quickly.

"If you've got any longer standing grass that can easily ignite," he said.