Fire crews work in extreme heat to create fireguard as province asks for federal help for ‘severe and unprecedented’ situation
Firefighters, with the help of bulldozers and excavators, successfully built a fireguard around the perimeter of a forest fire off the Herb Jamieson Road near Hartin Settlement, on Sunday, Aug. 10. The fire, which started on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 9, is now contained, and is classified as under control by the New Brunswick Wildfire Management Team.
(Canterbury Fire Department photo)
Meanwhile, crews battling fires in other parts of New Brunswick haven’t had the same success.
“There are currently 12 fires in the province,” said Wildfire Management spokesperson Nick Brown in an email. “Two are out of control fires, currently Oldfield Road (Miramichi) and Irishtown. One is under control (near Canterbury). Nine are being patrolled – which is the last step before being considered out.”
New Brunswick’s Natural Resources Minister calls the situation “severe and unprecedented,” and is calling in reinforcements.
“To ensure the safety of New Brunswickers and our province, we are proactively reaching out to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) to request additional firefighting personnel to support our fire crews on the ground and back at our central operations centre,” said Minister John Herron in an email. “We’ve always been a good partner to other provinces and territories and even to other countries when they needed it, that is why we are asking for their assistance.”
Meanwhile, in Lakeland Ridges, fire crews are quietly optimistic that their hard work will pay off.
“Our crews worked all day alongside the bulldozers and excavators, building a fire guard around the fire and wetting this area down as it progressed. This has now been accomplished,” said Canterbury Fire Chief Michael Furrow in a social media post shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Furrow was quick to point out that this does not mean the danger has passed.
“Now, the toughest and most tiring work begins,” he said, noting fire crews must now thoroughly wet down the entire area within the perimeter, dig up hot spots, and rip out stumps. Furrow said that fire can travel underground, through root systems.
As fires continue to rage in Miramichi and the Moncton area, Environment Canada can’t offer much hope for relief. The forecast for the next three days is hot and dry. The entire province is under a heat warning. Officials say New Brunswick forests haven’t been this dry since 1986.
Fire crews continue to battle the Oldfield fire in the Miramichi, which started on Aug. 6, and is still considered out of control. That fire has burned more than 340 hectares and has caused road closures. Near Moncton, the Irishtown fire, which started before noon on Sunday, Aug. 10, has already consumed 30 hectares of forest.
“There are four air tankers and two skimmers currently on site,” said Wildfire Management spokesperson Brown. “Residents of area homes are being asked to evacuate.”
On Saturday, Aug. 9, the province announced it would ban all activity on Crown land due to the extremely dry conditions. Fishing, camping, hiking and vehicles in the woods are prohibited, while trail systems are closed. The night before, the Government of New Brunswick announced it was banning all forestry activities.
A province-wide burn ban remains in effect.
