ST. JOHN'S — One of Newfoundland's active wildfires gained considerable ground over the weekend, and the blaze has "impacted" additional structures in the Adam's Cove, Kingston and Western Bay areas, the premier said Sunday.
John Hogan said Saturday was a "difficult day" as hot and windy conditions fanned the flames of the largest of the two fires in the Avalon Peninsula.
"Homes and structures were impacted... Unfortunately, we can't, based on suppression efforts and the smoke, evaluate exactly which structures have been lost at this time," the premier said during a news briefing Sunday.
Late Friday, that wildfire was reported to have destroyed nine homes in the small town of Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove.
Hogan said the fire that was 30 square kilometres Saturday morning had reached 50 square kilometres by Sunday afternoon. The premier said the blaze is expected to move toward Ochre Pit Cove by Sunday evening.
The premier, who spent much of the weekend in the town of Carbonear, N.L., with residents who have fled their homes, said "our hearts are with each and every one of you."
There are four air tankers attacking the northern side of the fire, the premier said, which are all the water bombers Newfoundland and Labrador has in its fleet. There is also one Bird Dog aircraft, five helicopters — two of which are from the Coast Guard — and 50 groundcrew working on fighting the blaze.
Hogan said the piece of good news he could deliver Sunday was that the wildfire in the Holyrood, N.L., area is now considered "held" at about 0.22 square kilometres. The evacuation order for this area has been lifted.
"The fire is fully contained with hose lines... crews are still working on the fire with support from local fire departments with water supplies," Hogan said.
Meanwhile, the fire near Martin Lake and Great Rattling Brook has hit about 2.55 square kilometres in size Sunday. Hogan said two waterbombers from Quebec, one Bird Dog aircraft and three air-tractors from New Brunswick are being used to support the firefighting crews.
Forestry Minister Lisa Dempster said through this "devastating" time she is seeing the goodness in humanity "that always rises to the surface in the most challenging of times" among residents.
However, she has also seen "some terrible, misleading, unfactual (social) media posts and comments that do nothing to help those people on the entire Bay de Verde Peninsula that are in a state of emergency — many that, through little cameras on their doors, watched their homes being burned."
The minister said she's had a number of people reach out to her saying they heard they are no longer permitted to walk in the woods. She found out this rumour originated on social media.
"Those people who are sharing information that they don't know whether it's true or not is not helping," she said.
Dempster noted that the province has not banned hiking, walking the woods or using ATVs.
"What we have banned is open-pit fires, fires that cause more fires. Fires that drain resources and quite frankly that are very careless and reckless right now in this devastating time in our province," she said.
Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, provincial governments have implemented burn bans and restricted activity in the woods as wildfire prevention measures.
Nova Scotia has imposed a sweeping ban on activities in wooded areas in addition to its existing burn bans. In New Brunswick, where the provincial government had also earlier imposed restrictions on some forestry operations, Premier Susan Holt announced a sweeping ban Saturday covering all activities on Crown lands, although she didn’t announce any potential increase in fines.
“We are in an unprecedented situation and it is getting worse,” Holt told reporters in Fredericton Saturday. “We are here to ask all New Brunswickers to get out of the woods and to stay out of the woods.”
Minister of Natural Resources John Herron said of the seven active wildfires burning in the province Saturday, only one was currently out of control. The fire on Oldfield Road in the Bartibog area northeast of Miramichi, had rapidly grown to about 2.4 square kilometres in size and had closed a section of Route 8, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2025.
— By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.
The Canadian Press
