Smoke adds new problems as Newfoundland forest fires continue to grow
CBC
The Paradise Lake forest fire tearing through parts of central Newfoundland has grown an additional 6,800 hectares heading into firefighting efforts on Wednesday.
Provincial forest fire duty officer Jeff Motty told CBC News Wednesday the fire now spans 17,233 hectares, or about 172 square kilometres.
The number is up dramatically from Tuesday's update of 10,337 hectares. The fire was estimated at 6,614 hectares on Monday.
Although the area received almost 20 millimetres of rain Tuesday, Motty said billowing plumes continue to play a key factor in the fire's growth.
"That one's been kicking up a lot of smoke," Motty told CBC News. "Early in the incident it was causing major, major problems, and we just had to use our water bombers as effectively as we can."
The fire is still deemed out of control as crews continue to work on the site Wednesday.
The other major fire, burning near the Bay d'Espoir Highway, also grew in size to 5,769 hectares — up 42 hectares from Tuesday's update.
Eight water bombers are attacking the fires Wednesday, Motty said.
The Bay d'Espoir highway remains open as of Wednesday morning following five days of closures, but officials with the Department of Transportation said Tuesday they'll be reassessing the status of the road on Wednesday morning.
Motty said crews will be looking for low wind speeds to factor into the decision, which are forecasted to be around 20 km/h.
"The rain certainly did help us yesterday, but we still do have a lot of work ahead of us," he added.
"We'll have to go and do another assessment today to see if it's safe to continue it be open, and that will always be our number one operational objective with the Bay d'Espoir Highway."
Meanwhile, the mayor of Grand Falls-Windsor is asking residents to prepare for heavy smoke in the coming days as winds begin to shift.
Mayor Barry Manuel said in a news release Tuesday night that the town expects to see smoky conditions in the community on Thursday, when winds are forecasted to shift to the south.
