Weather conditions continue to improve in fight against Badger fire

The director of Newfoundland and Labrador's wildfire response program says conditions continue to improve in the fight against a large wildfire in Badger, but it's still too early to know when residents could return home.

"The fire is still very active. We are seeing a lot of smoke and a lot of heat on the fire still," Craig Coady told CBC News Thursday. 

"But with that being said, conditions have significantly improved to the point where we are able to get ground crews and boots on the ground in there. And that's really important."

The fire grew from about 300 hectares to 1,100 on Wednesday. Coady said crews don't expect the fire to grow by a large amount on Thursday given three water bombers, two helicopters and nearly 40 personnel on the ground.

The fire also travelled increasingly closer to the community — between 200 and 300 metres away — but Coady said it hasn't jumped the Exploits River. It did burn under a transmission line for the Labrador-Island Link, he said, but it hasn't been affected.

Weather conditions remain favourable to fight the fire on Friday. Coady said any discussion as to when residents could potentially return to Badger would be speculative at this point.

"We're seeing higher relative humidity in the area, the winds are a little less and the temperatures are a little lower. So all those things are favourable," he said.

And for those managing the situation from the community, it's been a stressful couple of days.

But Mayor Dennis Butt said people seem to be handling themselves well.

"We still have crews monitoring, patrolling the community. We have equipment on scene, auxiliary pumps, the Forestry [Department] still has their sprinklers active in the community. While things have improved, no relaxing on our end," Butt said. 

Roger Goobie, executive director of Newfoundland and Labrador Search and Rescue and co-ordinator of Exploits Search and Rescue, said some residents have also decided to stay, despite calls to leave.

Seventeen residents remain behind, he said, and wellness checks are being completed to make sure they're safe.

About 30 kilometres away in nearby Grand Falls-Windsor, 775 people have registered with the Canadian Red Cross for support. The Red Cross is operating Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium as an emergency shelter alongside the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor.

"I think everybody in town was prepared for it," Badger resident Harry Lehr said Thursday.

"I understand we may be here today, too. The fire, you know, is knocked down a bit. So we'll just wait and see, I guess."

Lehr said residents are in good spirits and he isn't overly concerned about destroyed or damaged property, given the work of fire crews on the ground.

"We know it's well taken care of with our volunteer firefighters and the RCMP," he said.

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