Evacuation alert ends for St. John’s wildfire; officials fear N.S. fire will spread

A happy Eugene Howell takes footage on his phone as a sudden heavy rain shower moves in over Burnt Point, where the road to his evacuated community of Northern Bay is blocked due to the Kingston wildfire, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

ST. JOHN’S — An evacuation alert has ended for thousands of people in towns and neighbourhoods close to a wildfire burning near Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city of St. John’s.

The provincial government says a wider state of emergency that included the towns of Paradise and Conception Bay South, as well as the St. John’s neighbourhoods of Galway and Southlands, has also ended.

Roughly 20,000 residents in and around the province’s largest city were included in the evacuation alert, which asked residents to be prepared to leave their homes on short notice.

In Nova Scotia, officials have declared a state of emergency in Annapolis County, after the Long Lake wildfire grew to about eight square kilometres.

Officials say the fire could expand today as hot, dry weather persists.

Crews fighting the wildfire are down one helicopter after a Department of Natural Resources aircraft crashed into a lake Friday afternoon.

Forest protection director Jim Rudderham says the pilot is doing well but the helicopter is out of commission.