Residents return to Musgrave Harbour, while Chance Harbour fire considered as being held

A wildfire in central Newfoundland that forced hundreds to evacuate their homes is no longer a threat to the town of Musgrave Harbour, the province's public safety minister said Friday afternoon.

John Haggie announced at an unrelated event Friday that the evacuation order for Musgrave Harbour, which has been in place for nearly a week, is being lifted immediately.

Buses will be at Steele Memorial Centre in Gander starting at 2 p.m. NT for any residents who require transportation back to Musgrave Harbour, according to a release from the province. The centre will remain open on Friday for extended support.

"Residents are advised that this is still an active fire and there are fire crews on scene working hot spot areas. They can also expect to continue to see some smoke and action by helicopters and water bombers," the province's statement said.

A precautionary non-consumption advisory is in place for the town, and air quality may be impacted by smoke.

Haggie said crews have worked "around the clock" controlling what was a "very serious" situation.

Chance Harbour fire being held

Meanwhile, on the Bonavista Peninsula, a second wildfire that has destroyed dozens of cabins was classified as "being held" after 3 p.m NT Friday. 

That means "sufficient action has been taken" against the Chance Harbour fire and "resources are in place to prevent any further spread of the fire," according to a statement from the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture.

The Chance Harbour fire remains at 1,860 hectares. A portion of the resource road will reopen Saturday, with the outside check point being repositioned at 9 a.m.

Forestry officials are reminding residents and cabin owners to drive slowly and be mindful that the fire is still active and more trees are anticipated to fall.

Provincial fire duty officer Mark Lawlor said crews are still in the area working on the fire.

"We had firefighters working the southern boundary of that fire on the edge towards Winter Brook and Jamestown, and they made good progress. And we had crews on the eastern side of that fire putting out hot spots," he said.

Lawlor said Friday morning that the Ragged Harbour fire, which is burning near Musgrave Harbour, is still out of control, adding on there was a lot of smoke and some open flames on Thursday.

"Nothing serious, nothing to cause great alarm, but there was fire there," he said.

It has also stayed at 1,660 hectares and it hasn't gotten closer to the community.

He said crews are fighting the fire's northern side, which is the area closest to Musgrave Harbour, to get at hotspots there.

No timeline for return

Lawlor couldn't yet offer a timeline for when people might be able to return to their residences in Chance Harbour to check for damage to their properties.

"We have to ensure that it's safe for people to go back," said Lawlor, "We need to have the comfort level that … the danger level is eliminated."

He added the weekend's forecast is looking good for firefighting efforts.

"If the forecast holds, we shouldn't see much fire activity on either of those fires."

He said the Winokapu fire in Labrador, which is about 80 kilometres away from Churchill Falls, is also burning out of control.

"We haven't seen much activity with that fire lately, and our staff are going to check on that one today," Lawlor said. 

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