2 Newfoundland wildfires remain out of control, but haven't grown overnight: fire duty officer

While two wildfires continue to burn out of control in Newfoundland, the provincial fire duty officer says the good news is they haven't grown in size.

The active wildfires are the Chance Harbour fire in eastern Newfoundland and the Ragged Harbour fire burning northeast of Gander. That blaze forced nearby Musgrave Harbour residents to evacuate over the weekend.

Provincial fire duty officer Wes Morgan says the Chance Harbour fire hasn't grown since Wednesday and remains at 1,820 hectares.

Crews focused on fighting the fire's southern perimeter, which is closest to nearby communities.

"They made good progress," Morgan told CBC on Thursday.

"Overall a really good day yesterday, and everything is looking the way it should. We anticipate today will be very similar for the Chance Harbour fire."

He said the Ragged Harbour fire, burning close to the community of Musgrave Harbour, is still about 1,660 hectares in size.

Firefighting crews were on the ground on Wednesday, where they focused their efforts on fighting the fire's north and northeast edge, which is the area closest to a road and the community.

"They made good progress along that northern section [Wednesday], putting out hotspots," Morgan said, adding crews would be out again on the ground on Thursday, along with helicopters who would pour water from buckets.

"And where needed, water bombers."

Morgan said sprinklers have also been set up in "key areas" in Musgrave Harbour as a precautionary measure.

"So if the fire [does] reach a certain point, those sprinklers can be effective at maintaining the fire at that level," he said.

A third wildfire, called the Winokapu fire, has been burning in Labrador since July 15, and according to the provincial wildfire dashboard is 256 hectares in size.

Morgan said the fire is a "low concern" right now.

"It is just kind of a fire that's in a remote area that has no real concerns at this point. We're monitoring that fire and if any changes should occur, we will report," said Morgan.

Morgan also could not say when the provincewide fire ban could be lifted.

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