N.B. removing most restrictions on Crown lands as province reports 18 active fires

The New Brunswick government says it will be removing most of the restrictions on Crown lands as 18 fires continue to burn in the province Monday afternoon.

Of the 18 active wildfires:

• 12 are being patrolled
• three are contained

Three wildfires are still burning out of control:

• 256 – Beaver Lake Stream
• 281 – Rocky Brook
• 300 – Black River Bridge

The province says the 295-Pointe Sapin fire is now contained and an evacuation advisory issued for the area Sunday morning has been lifted.

“The last 24 hours has been hectic for the elderly,” said Pointe-Sapin resident Greg Daigle.

A peat moss fire at the end of Daigle Road had people on edge mainly because of Sunday’s high winds.

Daigle said a lot of the seniors who live in the same apartment building as him probably didn’t get much sleep the night before until they found out the fire was contained.

“Now they’re starting to relax a little bit, but yesterday they were calling each other to try and find out what was going on. They were on edge, they didn’t know what to do,” said Daigle.

However, an evacuation advisory is in place for people living on Highway 117 from Black River Bridge up to and including Little Branch.

It is not a mandatory evacuation, but the province says the Black River Bridge Fire poses a potential threat to people and property, and people living in the area should be prepared to evacuate their homes on short notice. The fire is estimated to be two hectares.

Gisele McLellan owns the Bay du Vin General Store just a few kilometres away from the Black River Bridge fire.

“We’re very concerned, yes. We have a lot of people that come in here that are on their way because they just got their evacuation notice. Very concerned. Everyone is,” said McLellan.

Zach McIntyre stopped in at the general store to pick up a few items while helping his girlfriend prepare to leave just in case.

“Yeah, obviously some big concerns,” said McIntyre. “I’m actually up here to make sure she’s you know, not all the way ready, we’re not loading up the trailer or anything like that but packing up the valuables and sentimentals.”

The province says, as of Monday, no structures have been damaged by the fires.

At 1,403 hectares, the Oldfield Road fire in the Miramichi area is still the province’s biggest fire, but it hasn’t grown in days and is still considered contained. Still, the province warns it is still actively burning, and could jump or spread.

The province says more than 2,200 hectares have burned since the start of this wildfire season, exceeding the 186.5 hectares burned last year, and the 10-year average of 395.5 hectares.

There have been 293 fires this year compared to 224 last year. The 10-year average is 215.

The province has created a phone line for people who have questions about the wildfire: 1-833-301-0334. Information is also available on the Fire Watch page and the Public Fires Dashboard.

More restrictions lifted

In a Monday afternoon news conference, the province said it will be removing most restrictions on Crown lands as of midnight Monday, but the provincewide burn ban will still remain in place.

“The forest is really dry, and it will continue to be dry until the snow comes. Until the end of September we are going to be on a wildfire watch,” said Natural Resources Minster John Herron during the news conference.

“We were fighting 39 fires and we just didn’t have the resources. We had to make sure we took every single precaution possible to mitigate the number of fires as possible. Today is much different, we have 18 fires and we are making progress on the three fires that are deemed to be out of control and the largest fires that we had are now in full containment.”

Restrictions will remain for timber harvesting, which will only be allowed between the hours of 6 p.m. and noon, to avoid the hottest hours of the day.

“We still think its appropriate for us to have those restrictions with the forestry sector itself...they can harvest, but it’s going to be the auspices that we’ve used during past dry seasons,” said Herron.

Restrictions on peat harvesting, which has been permitted since Aug. 13 with the goal of reducing peat piles, will remain until further notice to ensure that current piles continue to be reduced.

Municipalities may use their own discretion on whether to reopen their parks and trails.

Air quality statements in effect

Air quality statements are in effect in some parts of the province, but they’re actually due to a large wildfire that’s burning out of control in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis County, and not because of wildfires in New Brunswick.

Smoke from the Long Lake fire in West Dalhousie, N.S., which is estimated to be 3,255 hectares, is crossing the Bay of Fundy and reducing local air quality in the following regions:

• Fundy National Park
• Moncton and southeast New Brunswick
• Saint John and county
• Sussex-Kennebecasis Valley and Kings County

“People more likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke, including people aged 65 and older, pregnant people, infants and young children, people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, and people who work outdoors, should avoid strenuous activities outdoors and seek medical attention if experiencing symptoms,” said Environment Canada.

Residents are encouraged to keep their doors and windows closed and limit time spent outdoors.

Evacuation preparation

Residents living in areas close to wildfire activity are advised to be prepared to evacuate on short notice and prepare an emergency kit just in case.

The kit should include necessities for at least 72 hours, such as:

• water
• food
• flashlight
• radio
• batteries
• first aid
• masks (for smoke filtration)
• prescription medications
• pet food

Wildfire status

When wildfires burn, the following terms are used to describe their status:

• out of control – still spreading and not contained
• being monitored – a known, out-of-control fire that is not immediately threatening life or infrastructure, monitored by aircraft or satellite with no resources currently assigned
• contained – surrounded by barriers, such as lakes, roads, and fire lines, but still burning and could spread
• under control – surrounded and stable; low activity, minimal risk of escape
• being patrolled – contained with little to no fire activity; crews monitoring hotspots
• out – fully extinguished; no smoke for at least 24 hours
• fire of note – a fire requiring significant resources or threatening homes or critical infrastructure

- with files from CTV’s Derek Haggett and Nick Moore

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.