Badger fire downgraded in scale, but still burning near community
Badger residents flee as wildfire approaches community, infrastructure
A wildfire near Badger, N.L. is still burning out of control and moving closer to the community, but a forestry official says there is a sense that conditions could improve.
Jeff Motty, supervisor for forestry protection in Newfoundland and Labrador, said the fire was downgraded from a Rank 5 fire to a Rank 3 fire on Wednesday. However, it's still burning out of control, at around 1,100 hectares in size.
The fire is about 600 metres from the community, but Motty said there is a sense of optimism that crews can get a better handle on it.
"We've got decreasing winds tomorrow …The risk is decreasing," Motty told CBC News Wednesday evening.
He said 35 firefighting personnel will begin fighting the fire on the ground at 7 a.m. Thursday morning, and additional resources have been requested.
Residents of Badger fled the community as smoke clouded the air, and waterbombers passed overhead every few minutes.
"It is scary, yeah," said Joe Roberts, who was gassing up his vehicle at a local service station before heading to Grand Falls-Windsor, about 30 kilometres east on the Trans-Canada Highway.
"It's so unpredictable, you never know what's going to happen now," said Roberts of the wind.
He's one of the roughly 500 people in Badger who've been ordered to flee by the provincial government.
The evacuation notice came just a few hours before, after the forest fire threatened both the town and nearby infrastructure.
"Nobody should refuse to leave," said Premier John Hogan. "We're not making this evacuation order lightly. It's for people's health, it's people's livelihoods, it's people's lives. This is a very serious, serious situation."
Speaking during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Hogan said government made the decision to order the evacuation just a few minutes before speaking with reporters.
Hogan said people should head to Grand Falls-Windsor, where they can stay at the Joe Byrne Arena.
He said the province will have transportation available for anyone who needs it.
"We thought there might be a little window to make this decision a little bit later in the day, but we certainly felt it's better to be safe than sorry and make sure we move these people as soon as possible," he said.
The province's decision to order an evacuation comes just a few hours after the town's council told residents they need to be ready to leave their homes at a moment's notice.
Provincewide fire ban
The fire started near the community following a lightning storm in the area Tuesday afternoon.
According to the provincial fire hazard map, the entire central Newfoundland region is considered to be between a high and extreme risk for fire.
At Wednesday's news conference, Forestry Minister Lisa Dempster issued a provincewide fire ban.
The fire near Badger is at least the third major wildfire to threaten a Newfoundland and Labrador community this season.
In early May, a wildfire quickly burned through the Conception Bay North community of Adam's Cove, taking 12 homes and other buildings with it.
Then, in late May, a wildfire near Churchill Falls prompted another emergency response.
Jamie Chippett, a deputy minister with the forestry department, said the fire season started early, fuelled by dry conditions and hot weather.
"If you combine that with the distance from [Badger], the types of fuels that are available for the fire to burn, and wind direction and speed today, that's resulting really in the recommendation to evacuate," he said.
Hogan said the fire hasn't hit the transmission lines near the town yet, but in a statement Public Safety said Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro has reduced the amount of power flowing through the Labrador-Island Link.
He said there is some rain in the forecast in the long term, but there's no time to wait.
"The most important thing, of course, is people's lives," Hogan said. "You can replace homes, we can replace schools, we can replace roads, but we can't replace people."
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With files from Labrador Morning