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Community cut off by Newfoundland forest fires running out of food, says deputy mayor

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ST. JOHN'S, N.L -

The deputy mayor of a southern Newfoundland town said Monday his community is running out of food as it remains cut off from the rest of the island due to the worst forest fires the province has seen in more than 60 years.

Roy Drake said the three grocery stores in Harbour Breton, N.L., will likely be out of food within the next day or two. Drake said he owns one of those stores -- the smallest of the three in the town of about 1,600 people -- and already, there's not a jug of milk or a loaf of bread left on any of his shelves.

"Things are starting to get stressful for most residents," Drake said in a phone interview from the town hall. "We need to get food in within a day or so to help us out. Not just for Harbour Breton, but for the entire region."

The province said in a news release Monday evening that it has started flying essential goods to the stranded communities by helicopter.

For the past two weeks, forest fires have forced officials to intermittently shut down a remote, 200-kilometre-long route that connects the main highway across Newfoundland with the island's Connaigre Peninsula, which is home to the towns of Harbour Breton, Hermitage and Conne River. The last time the road was opened was last Thursday morning, according to the Department of Forestry.

The province has declared a state of emergency stretching from the Connaigre Peninsula up the highway to the towns of Bishop's Falls, Grand Falls-Windsor and Botwood, largely because of smoke and air quality concerns. Officials said Saturday the fires are burning in a remote area and the flames don't pose a risk to any homes or residents.

As of Monday afternoon, the Forestry Department estimated that the two main fires in the area together encompassed over 160 square kilometres. Typically, forest fires in Newfoundland and Labrador don't get larger than five square kilometres, Jeff Motty, the province's forest fire duty officer, said in an interview, adding that both fires were out of control.

The fire that began in an area called Paradise Lake was within 25 kilometres of Grand Falls-Windsor, and crews were working Monday afternoon to build a firebreak that would keep the flames from creeping closer to the town, Motty said. It was forecast over the weekend that the two fires would merge, but Sunday's winds weren't as high as predicted, and the air was more humid than anticipated, he said.

With a bit of rain expected Tuesday, Motty said there was less worry the fires would join forces. "But still some huge fires down there on the landscape," Motty said.

Quebec has sent firefighters and aircraft to help battle the flames. "It's not very often we bring in resources that expensive," Motty said, noting he was pleased provincial officials complied with the request for help.

In a video posted to social media Saturday night, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey described one of the fires as the largest the province has seen since 1961.

The Canadian Red Cross set up emergency shelter for those stranded north of the fires in central Newfoundland. On Monday, officials with Grand Falls-Windsor offered twice-daily bus shuttles to emergency shelters in nearby Deer Lake for residents wishing to get away from the smoke.

For those stranded south of the fires on the Connaigre Peninsula, the provincial Transportation Department enlisted a ferry to bring supplies to stranded communities and to help people leave.

 

The ferry was expected to arrive Tuesday. But in the government's news release that announced helicopters would bring in supplies, it also said the ferry Sound of Islay, which was supposed to do the job, was delayed by mechanical difficulties and is in St. John's for repairs.

It said an update will be provided when repairs are completed.

David Neil, a warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the fires were started on July 24 by a lightning strike amid an abnormally warm and dry summer.

"This is a very unique situation," he said, though he was hesitant to pin it directly on the province's changing climate.

Neil said there are about 10 millimetres of rain forecast for the area on Tuesday. "It's not a great deal of rain," he admitted. "But at the very least, it should bring some help to the folks trying to contain the fire."

Federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh issued a statement Monday saying the fires are evidence that Justin Trudeau's Liberals must do more to fight climate change.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2022.

Correction

This is a corrected story. A previous version said the fire situation was the worst in 50 years

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