2025 Wildfire Season: British Columiba Wildfires (Sept. 10th)

Direct link to September 9th video from CTV News on YouTube

I have been hearing about the bad wildfire season in British Columbia Canada for several days now so perhaps somewhat belatedly I want to make this post focusing on these wildfires. 

According to the September 9th Dashboard from the British Columbia Wildfire Service (updated daily so you may see something different), there are 152 active wildfires with 48 out of control wildfires. Campfire restrictions are currently in place. There are evacuation orders in place for some wildfires. There are 125 aerial resources assigned to work British Columbia Wildfires. You will also see a listing of other resources

They also have a map view and a list view with a list of all the wildfires, these pages are updated daily so what I am sharing here may be different from what you will see if you visit these pages. If you are interested in a specific wildfire, go to the map view and zoom in to the area you are interested and click on the dot representing a specific wildfire and you may find more information about that fire. To give you an overview of the wildfire situation in British Columbia I am inserting a screen shot I took of the current map view.

Obtained on 09102025 from https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map

The BC Wildfire Service also has a blog, account on Facebook that you should be able to access without an account, as well as an account on YouTube.

My thoughts are wish all who are affected by these wildfires, wildland firefighters, aerial support, and support teams working these fires, 

2025 Wildfire Season: West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire Nova Scotia Canada

Direct link to August 26th video from CBC News Nova Scotia

Thanks to  a friend in eastern Canada who told me about the West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire that is currently burning in Nova Scotia. The latest information is that this wildfire has burned  8,278 hectare (20,455 acres) with approximately 1,000 people being evacuated due to this wildfire that was first reported on August 13th. The fire is categorized as being out of control. For more information see this August 27th (9:31 AM) article from CBC Nova Scotia with photos and a video. Another media report on this fire may be found on Global News (dated on or about August 26th. You may also want to see the Interactive Map from Canada's Natural Resources that I accessed a couple of hours ago, the fire name is "06-007-2025"

According to the latest updates from Nova Scotia DNR posted on X (formerly Twitter) that I am unable to embed but you can find the information about this fire at the Nova Scotia DNR post to X (formerly Twitter) at 10:10 AM on August 27th (note that you may not be able to access the link without an account on X). To review what the Nova Scotia DNR said this morning: "The Long Lake Wildfires Complex is now estimated at 8,278 hectares. ... no new reports of damage to homes. ... Air resources: 6 helicopters, 6 planes plus bird dogs." 

2025 Canadian Wildfires: More on Newfoundland & Labrador Wildfires

 

Direct link to August 19th video from CBC on YouTube

I continue to monitor the wildfires in Newfoundland and am now including Labrador. I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map)accessed on August 20th at 10 AM. Note that I am unable to access the Wildfire Dashboard on Chrome on my Mac, but the link works in Firefox and Safari.

By far the largest of the three out of control wildfires burning in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Kingston Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 3rd, that has burned 10,708 hectares or 26,440 acres. and is still out of control. This is over double the hectares burned (5,236) that I wrote about in my August 11th post. According the CBC August 19th report that includes excerpts from a press conference by John Hogan, the Newfoundland  & Labrador Premier the fire has burned 107 square kilometers due to better and more accurate fire mapping. For reference, 107 square kilometers is 10,700 hectares. He reports that an estimated 203 structures have been lost and some of these structures are not residences but may be sheds, a school and the like. Finally he reported that water bombers and five heavy helicopters worked the fire on August 19th.

Other wildfires burning in Newfoundland & Labrador as of August 19th are two other fires that are out of control:

• Martin Lake Fire also in eastern Newfoundland that I last reported on August 5, has burned 1,770 hectares or 4,374 acres, an increase of over 1,100 hectares burned that I wrote about on August 11th.
• Udjuktok Bay Fire in Labrador, first reported on August 8th, has burned 571 hectares or 1,411 acres.

The Holyrood Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 4th is under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres.

Finally the Paddy's Pond Fire, first reported on August 11th is being held at 318 hectares or 786 acres.

Definitions from the Wildfire Dashboard:

• Out of Control: A wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter spread is not being contained.
• Being Held: With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions
• Under Control: A wildfire having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire.

All of Canada is having a severe wildfires season. For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options including but not limited to active wildfires. For example, there is a 3,210 hectare out of control fire burning in Nova Scotia and several out of control fires in New Brunswick.

2025 Wildfire Season: Canadian Wildfire Season 2nd Worse Fire Season

Direct link to August 13h YouTube video from CHCH News

I have a couple of friends who live in Canada and are deeply concerned about the wildfires burning in their province. I also have a couple of friends who live in the northern United States not far from the Canadian border. As someone who writes about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I want to express my concern for the severe wildfire season across all of Canada, the second worst season in Canada to date. I want to thank my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video the other day, it is possible that I may not have found this video on my own. I wish all in Canada living hear wildfires my prayers for their safety. I hope that you heed any evacuation orders. I understand that structures including residences have been destroyed. I pray for the safety of all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air as well as their support teams. I understand that aerial resources have been deployed to some of the the wildfires burning in Canada.

For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires. If you click on the circular icon for a wildfire of interest to you, you should be able to get information on that fire.

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Kingston Wildfire, eastern Newfoundland

Direct link to Aug 9th video from The Candian Press on YouTube

On August 6th I wrote about wildfires burning in eastern Newfoundland with updated information on August 7th and 9th. I am focusing today on the Kingston Wildfire in eastern Newfoundland. I went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland (accessed on Aug 11th at 12:30 PM) Before a discuss the Kingston Wildfire, a brief update. The Holyrood Wildfire in eastern NF is now under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres burned. The Martin Lake Wildfire in central NF is still out of control with a slight increase in acreage burned of 265 hectares or 655 acres burned, up from 150 hectares that I reported on August 6th. 

All of Canada is seeing a lot of wildfires, for the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires and fire danger. For example a friend told me about wildfires in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Moving to the Kingston Wildfire that has burned 5,236 hectares or 12,938 acres, up from 721 hectares on August 6th.  According to the Canadian Press video evacuation remain in place and new orders have been placed due to extreme wildfire behavior ground crews were removed because of safety considerations. The government declared a state of emergency on August 9th covering the areas in Newfoundland affected by recent wildfires.

I found an August 10th report on the Kingston Fire on CBC that may be here. They say that more structures are threatened but due to the extreme fire behavior they have not been able to confirm if more structures have been destroyed. In addition, they report that there are airtankers and helicopters, including at least one high capacity helicopter, and a bird dog aircraft working this wildfire in support of the ground crews.

2025 Eastern Canada Wildfire Season: early August

August 6. 9:40 AM

Direct link to August 5th video from Global News on YouTube

Thanks to my friend in eastern Canada who told me yesterday about more fires in Newfoundland and sent me the video that I am sharing with you. 

 I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland. According to the information that I saw as I posted this article (9:30 AM EDT on Aug 6) there are three out of control wildfires in eastern and central Newfoundland:

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 721 hectares or 1,782 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 150 hectares or 371 acres burned

If hectares burned in any of these three fires changes, I will update this post below, just scroll down.

The Wildfire Dashboard defines an out of control fire as "a wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter of spread is not being contained."

A map of current and past wildfires in Nova Scotia may be found on this webpage

I understand from the video that Nova Scotia is on heightened alert for possible wildfire starts. Both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have banned outdoor wildfires. Information on Nova Scotia burn bans may be found here. More information about wildfire season in Newfoundland may be found on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website.

Aug 7, 6:15 AM

I made a serious error in my Aug 6th entry where I did not refer to hectares burned. I corrected that entry to refer to hectares burned with a conversion to acres burned for readers in the U.S. 

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has doubled in size and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size.

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 1,432 hectares or 3,539 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 210 hectares or 519 acres burned

August 9, 6:51 PM

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has again doubled in size  and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size. 

The Wildfire Dashboard defines being held as follows: "With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions."

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF) remains out of control, reported on August 3rd with 3,001 hectares or 7,416 acres burned.
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned is now reported as being held.
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF) remains out of control, reported on August 5th with 245 hectares or 605. acres burned.

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Final update, Musgrave Harbor and Chance Harbour Wildfires

 I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check the size of the Chance Harbour (1800 hectares) and the Ragged Harbour (1,660 hectares) Wildfires. I wrote about these wildfires on July 21st  and July 23rd I am pretty certain, but I could be wrong, that the Chance Harbour Wildfire is what is also referred to as the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire as it does appear to be burning near Musgrave Harbor.

The good news is that the Chance Harbour Wildfire is under control at 1,820 hectares (4,497 acres). According to the Wildfire Dashboard under control means "A wildfire having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire."

The Ragged Harbour Wildfire is being held at 1,589 hectares (3,927 acres). According to the Wildfire Dashboard being held means "With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions"

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: July 23rd update, Musgrave Harbor and Chance Harbour Wildfires

I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check the size of the Chance Harbour (1800 hectares) and the Ragged Harbour (1,660 hectares) Wildfires, there is no change in the size of either fire since I wrote about these wildfires on July 21st I am pretty certain, but I could be wrong, that the Chance Harbour Wildfire is what is also referred to as the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire as it does appear to be burning near Musgrave Harbor.

I understand from the July 22nd evening report on The Telegram  that there has been some rain in the area of these two wildfires. Mandatory evacuation orders for residents of Musgrave Harbour remained in place. Groundcrews continue to work these fires with the aid of aerial support. The Chance Harbour and the wildfire burning near Musgrave Harbour are only 100 kilometers apart, both fires are still considered out of control. 

According to this July 22nd news release on the Musgrave Harbor Wildfire from the Government of Newfundland and Labrador there continue to be road closures in the area and this report confirms that evacuations remain in place.

I have been doing my best to monitor these two large wildfires burning in Newfoundland, and I won’t post another update until conditions change. 

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Musgrave Harbour and Chance Harbour Wildfires (Newfoundland)

Direct link to July 16th or 17th video from CBC News on YouTube

Direct link to July 20th video from Peter Barfoot on YouTube

I was vaguely aware of wildfires burning in eastern Canada, and I have to thank a Canadian friend for making me aware of the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire that is still burning in Newfoundland, Canada, He sent me a July 20th article from The Telegram with good information on the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire which was first reported on Saturday, July 19th with mandatory evacuation orders in place. As of July 20th, that wildfire has burned abut 1,700 hectares or approximately 4,200 acres. As an added and unexpected bonus the article my friend sent me also referred to the Chance Harbour Wildfire which according to the article has burned about 1,700 hectares

I did have a link to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center in my bookmarks and they do have a good map with locations of wildfires burning in Canada and a daily situation report with summaries by province of wildfires, through the situation report I found a link to a website for Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture. When I navigated to their wildfire dashboard, I saw that one of my browsers was not able to display their map but I was able to navigate to a list of active wildfires. I was able to find current acreage burned for the Chance Harbour Wildfire of 1,800 hectares (4,448 acres). I found no information for a wildfire named Musgrave Harbour but there was information for the Ragged Harbour Wildfire which has burned 1,800 hectares. 

Regarding the two videos that I shared above, the video on the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire is dated July 20th and the approximate date of the video on the Chance Harbour Wildfire is July 16th. You will see Scoopers working the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire. Evacuation orders for some residents living near the Chance Harbour Wildfire were in place at the time the video was shot, I do not know if these orders are still in effect.

I wrote an update on these wildfires on July 23rd

Firefighters Deployed to Western Canada to Help Fight Massive Wildfire Outbreak

Direct link to Facebook post by VICEmergency

Direct link to June 2nd video from Oregon Central News on YouTube

I wrote about the massive wildfire outbreak in Western Canada on May 30th with a follow-up post on June 4th. I am here today to share what agencies have been sending firefighters to western Canada to help with this devastating wildfire outbreak. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive listing of who is helping. I suspect that there are agencies unknown to me both in the United States and outside the United States that have sent firefighters. The point I am hoping to make is that firefighting agencies want to help western Canada.  

As you can see from the material I embedded above, Australia has responded to the call for help from Canada sending 96 firefighters including 14 from Victoria. Within the United States, the Oregon is sending14 firefighters. 

According to this June 2nd article from WBIA in South Central Indiana, The US Forest Services has deployed an airtanker along with 150 firefighters to Australia.

Massive Wildfire Outbreak in Western Canada - June 4th Update

Direct link to June 3rd video from CTV News on YouTube

I suspect that many of you are aware of the massive wildfire outbreak in Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan in Western Canada. I first wrote about this outbreak on May 30th. Thousands of people have been evacuated and equipment and resources are stretched thin, requests for additional firefighters and equipment from outside Canada have been made. Smoke from these fires is going into the United States with many National Weather Service offices putting out air quality alerts, see this article from EarthSky. In the map below from the National Weather Service (June 4th at 4:15 PM EDT) air quality alerts are in grey.

I am embedding some videos describing the pleas for international assistance, and drivers left stranded in Manitoba. You also might want to read this May 31st article on Wildfire Today and a June 4th report from CBS News

Direct link to June 2nd video from CBS News on YouTube

Direct link to June 4th video from CBC News on YouTube

Direct link to June 3rd video from CBC News Manitoba on YouTube

2025 Wildfire Season: Massive Wildfire Outbreak in Western Canada

Direct link to May 28th video from CBC News on YouTube

Direct link to video from 13 On Your Side on YouTube

I have been aware of the large wildfires in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Manitoba for a couple of days but had not not posted on these fires. When I saw two articles about these wildfires on my newsfeed this morning I knew that ir is past time for this post. The best way to start is with the two videos that I shared above, again with thanks to my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page for sharing these videos on  their website. I hope that you take the time to watch these videos. As you can see, smoke from these wildfires will be impacting Canada and the United States today and tomorrow.

Thanks to the National Wildland Fire Situation Report from Natural Resources Canada they also have a tFire Weather Maps Page that you might want to check out.. I found links for the  Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, the Manitoba Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures.and Alberta Wildfire

• According to the May 30th update from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (URL leads to a file to be downloaded) there are 16 active wildfires with seven showing no containment. The largest of these is what the agency is calling the Shoe Fire (Lower Fishing Lake) at 305,343 hectares or 754,519 acres. The second largest is the 25lA-PISEW wildfires (west of La Ronge) at 61,205 hectares or 151,241 acres. Thousands of people have been evacuated in Saskatchewan.
• According to the May 28th Fire Situation Report from Manitoba there 372,338 hectares have burned or 920,067 acres.
• Alberta Wildfire has a May 30th information page showing information on several out of control wildfires, two are over 15,000 hectares or 37.066 acres, many are out of control. Please take a look at this page to see a listing of these wildfires.

For more information see this article from CNN and another article from USA Today

2024 Wildfire Season: Wildfires in Western Canada

 I owe a friend of mine from Canada a thank-you for giving me a gentle kick a couple of days reminding me about a bad wildfire in Jasper in Alberta. My friends were traveling in Alberta in late July, spending one night in Jasper around the time evacuation orders were issued. Thankfully, my friends got out of Jasper safely and without too much difficulty. 

The wildfire in and around Jasper started on or about July 22nd. I believe that my friends were there 2 to 4 days later. Many houses in Jasper were lost to the wildfire and residents are only recently being allowed to return. Roads in the area of the wildfire were just reopened on or about August 9th and 10th.Jasper National Park is still closed as I write this. The fire was at 80 percent containment on August 10th. There are many photos of the fire along with information on emotional and mental health,  rapid damage assessment and more at website from Parks Canada that I linked to earlier in this paragraph. The video that I have embedded below is from Sky News in late July.

Direct link to video from Sky News on YouTube

While some progress has been made on the Jasper Fire, wildfire danger remains in western Canada. An example is a warning off extreme wildfire danger in British Columbia for the weekend just past. Revised at 3:25 pm on August 12th with some information on wildfire starts over the weekend.

Direct link to video from CTV News on YouTube

British Columbia's Wildfire Service webpage may be found here and it looks like this page (with a map) is updated at least daily. According to their dashboard (dated August 12th, probably updated daily) there are 414 active wildfires of which 34 were started in the last 24 hours and 328 were started by lightning. Of the 414, five are consider a wildfire of note. A wildfire of note "are wildfires that are highly visible or post a potential threat to public safety." At least four of these were started since July 19th.

The Kamloops Fire Center in British Columbia reported 30 new wildfire starts from August 9 to 11th, most if not all of these wildfire starts can be attributed to lightning.

As for specific wildfires that were started over the weekend, CBC Canada reported on one, a wildfire that was first reported on Saturday, August 10 burning close to the village of Valemount in British Columbia, known as the Canoe Road Wildfire. An evacuation order was issued Saturday morning and later lowered to an evacuation alert. 

2023 Wildfire Season: Footage of a Wildfire Near White River, Ontario (May 31st?)

I decided over the weekend to get back to looking at some social media groups focusing on aerial wildland firefighting. I was doing so this morning when I saw some interesting footage on YouTube of a wildfire near White River, Ontario, Canada shot be Peterborough Scanner Feed on or about May 31st. It looks like the videographer shot this footage fairly soon after the fire was first reported, their account of reporting the fire is interesting. 

You might want to go and read about this video before watching this video. The video is just under 18 minutes. A little long, but I did enjoy the video and the footage of some helos, fire observation planes and a Canadair 415 Super Scooper. You will see several shots of the Super Scooper flying over and then dropping on the fire. The Canadair 415 is part of Ontario's fleet of aircraft, they have an aviation page with some information about their fleet.

2023 Wildfire Season: Nova Scotia (June 2nd)

Direct link to video from CBC National News

 

I am sharing the latest updates on some of the wildfires in Nova Scotia:

Westwood Hills, Tantallon:
-fire is 50 per cent contained, but still out of control, at an estimated 837 hectares
-firefighters on scene include 40 from DNRR, 100 from HRM and 9 from DND
-air resources include five helicopters and one water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador

— Natural Resources and Renewables (@NS_DNRR) June 2, 2023

 

Barrington Lake, Shelburne County:
-fire is still out of control, covering 21,515 hectares (215 square kilometres)
-firefighters about 40 from DNRR and more than 40 volunteer/municipal
-air resources include five helicopters and one water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador.

— Natural Resources and Renewables (@NS_DNRR) June 2, 2023

The Nova Scotia Division of Natural Resources and Renewables on Twitter has been providing updates on these fires. If you are coming here when these fires are still active and want the latest information please check them out.

For more information, the CBC Nova Scotia has been covering these wildfires, here is a June 2nd article. Included in this report is an one hour video of a June 1, 2023 update from Nova Scotia officials on these wildfires as well as shorter videos on enforcement of burn bans, evacuations, a request from the Nova Scotia Premier, Tim Houston to the federal government in Ottawa to send more resources. Evacuations are still in place as well as school closures. Nova Scotia is offering a one-time payment through the Canadian Red Cross of $500 per household who were evacuated.

Kelly Andersson of Wildfire Today reported on the Nova Scotia wildfires in a June 1st article, he reports that "more than 300 firefighters from the U.S. and South Africa are en route to Canada in the coming days. Some will be sent to Nova Scotia, while others are headed for Alberta."

2023 Wildfire Season: Nova Scotia Wildfires (May 31st)

Direct link to video from Global News on YouTube

On Saturday night, May 27th, I heard from a friend who lives somewhere in the vicinity of Halifax, Nova Scotia. He told me about a wildfire that had started that same day. He saw flames and smoke from the wildfire as he was riding to work on Saturday night. He went on to tell me that the fire was threatening residential areas. On Sunday, I went and checked the Nova Scotia Division of Natural Resources and Renewables Twitter account but did not find reports of the size of the fire my friend told me about until May 29th, more on that later. 

Unless otherwise noted, I accessed all of the embedded tweets from the Nova Scotia Division of Natural Resources and Renewables Twitter account.

I want to start by acknowledging that according to a news release from the Nova Scotia Government there are at least three wildfires in Nova Scotia, including one that has burned 19,000 hectares (about 46,500 acres).

Barrington Lake, Shelburne County, wildfire update:
The fire is out of control, covering 19,000 hectares. 50 DNRR firefighters, 40 volunteer firefighters and four helicopters are one scene. pic.twitter.com/H9UOi4dRDT

— Nova Scotia Gov. (@nsgov) May 30, 2023

I believe that wildfire that my friend was telling me about is the wildfire that is burning in the Tantallon-Westwood Hills area of Nova Scotia. According to a May 30th update from the Nova Scotia Government this fire had burned 788 hectares (about 1,947 acres). Mandatory evacuations orders are in place.

Westwood Hills, Tantallon, wildfire update:
the wildfire, estimated at 788 hectares, remains out of control. Fire fighters are responding to increased fire activity in the Taylor Lake and Sandy Lake West area. pic.twitter.com/Eu0xne7Rh1

— Nova Scotia Gov. (@nsgov) May 30, 2023

For a sense of geography, I saw these maps in another Tweet by the  Nova Scotia Division of Natural Resources and Renewables of the 19,000 hectare wildfire in the Barrington area and the 788 acre fire in the Tantallon area.

Here is the latest map (accurate at 10:20 a.m. on May 31) of the wildfire in the Tantallon-Westwood Hills area. The active fire area is shaded in pink, and the evacuation perimeter is the dotted red line. pic.twitter.com/Hl5MvHOnPo

— Natural Resources and Renewables (@NS_DNRR) May 31, 2023

I did some more searching because I wanted to find a map that showed where the wildfires were on a map of the Province of Nova Scotia. Thanks again to CBC who reported on the locations of the wildfires with maps.

Finally, here is a May 31st report on the Tantallon-Westwood Hills wildfire from CBC News Nova Scotia

2023 Wildfire Season: Alberta Wildfires (May 10th)

 I knew over the weekend that there were wildfires burning in Alberta and one way I know that wildfires are having a major impact, both in size and on residential and business properties is when the news of these wildfires show up in my newsfeed. See for example this May 10th CNN report. However, I did not have to go my newsfeed to learn about these wildfires because I follow Wildfire Today where Kelly Anderson covered these fires on May 5th and May 9th.  In addition, you may want to read this May 9th article from Grist and a May 8th article from the New York Times (I subscribe to the NY Times and I hope that have successfully used one of my "gifts" to give you free access to this article through May 20th). The New York Times reports that "around 964,000 acres have burned since wildfires started more than a week ago, destroying dozens of structures and forcing nearly 30,000 residents of Alberta to evacuate. ... Alberta declared a state of emergency on Saturday as more than 110 wildfires burned across the province."

I thought that you might enjoy this May 9th report on these Alberta Wildfires from CBC.

Direct link to video from CBC News on YouTube

2022 wildfire season: forest fires in Newfoundland (August 10th)

Direct link to video on YouTube from Global News

I have been writing about forest fires that are still burning in central Newfoundland, see my August 8th post for more information.  The two largest forest fires, the Paradise Like and the Bay d’Espoir Highway Fires remain out of control. Both fires have grown since my last update on August 8th with the Paradis Lake Fire growing from an estimated 6,614 ha (16,344 acres) on August 8th to 17,233 ha (42,584 acres) today. The Bay d’Espoir Fire has grown by 496 ha (1,226 acres) from 5,273 ha (13,030 acres) on August 8th 5,769 ha (14,256 acres) on August 10th. There was some rain yesterday that may have helped a little but it seems that there is a ways to go before the fires are under control. I got the two images with the current report on Active Forest Fires (August 10th, 11 AM NDT, note this information may be updated a couple of times a day). At the time that I am writing this post the Bay d’Espoir Highway, the only road into some communities on the south coast of Newfoundland.

obtained on August 10, 2022 from https://www.gov.nl.ca/ffa/files/forestry-forest-fires-pdf-active-fires.pdf

obtained on August 10, 2022 from https://www.gov.nl.ca/ffa/files/forestry-forest-fires-pdf-active-fires.pdf

The Bay d’Espoir Highway was closed for approximately five days through later in the day on Tuesday, August 9th (CBC on Bay d'Espoir Highway reopening and CBC on supplies begin to flow into southern coast communities) Not only does this mean that visitors and others stranded in some communities on the south coast could leave and go home, it also meant that for five days supplies in communities such as St. Albans were dwindling as deliveries of food, gasoline, and other crucial items by road were impossible. Supplies were starting to come into these formerly cut-off communities by late in the afternoon of August 9th. I understand that while these communities were cut-off because of the closure of the Bay d’Espoir Highway (that links with the Trans Canada Highway), that helicopters were available for those requiring medical treatment and other emergencies. 

According to this CBC report on August 10th, smokey conditions continue and the Bay d'Espoir Highway will remain open through the end of today, August 10th to be reevaluated tomorrow, August 11th.

I can not possibly know what it is like to visit or live in a community that only was one road in and out, but my thoughts are with all those on the south coast of Newfoundland who were cut off because of the closure of the Bay d’Espoir Highway. As to whether or not the highway will be closed again, I am sure that no one wants this to happen but if safety dictates that the highway be closed again, than it will be closed again.

I applaud the firefighters both in the air and on the ground working these fires. Stay safe and thanks for your service as you spend time away from your families. Thanks to Quebec for lending four water bombers to Newfoundland.

2022 wildfire season: forest fires in Newfoundland (August 8th)

Direct link to August 8th video on YouTube from CTV News

I wrote about forest fires in Newfoundland Canada on July 25th and again on July 27th. I admit that I had not followed up on these fires until this morning when my friends at the NJFFS Section B10 website shared the above video on the main page of their website (video links updated daily). Of the six forest fires that were still burning on July 27th, see my July 27th for more information, one is under control and two continue to be listed as out of control on August 8th. The Triton Brook/Deer Pond (Fire #137) has burned an estimated 24 ha (or 39 acres) and is listed as being under control and being monitored. 

Two fires, both of which started on July 24th continue to burn out of control:    

• The Bay d'Espoir Highway Fire (Fire #139) has burned 5,273 ha (13,030 acres)
• The Paradise Lake Fire (Fire #136) has burned 6,614 ha (16,344 acres)

See the two images below from the NL Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture for more information on these fires. 

Obtained on August 8, 2022 from https://www.gov.nl.ca/ffa/files/forestry-forest-fires-pdf-active-fires.pdf

Obtained on August 8, 2022 from https://www.gov.nl.ca/ffa/files/forestry-forest-fires-pdf-active-fires.pdf

The Paradise Lake and Bay d'Espoir Fires are located in close proximity to each other, but as of August 8 they have not merged into one fire. An August 4 tweet from the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Department includes an overview map.

1/3: Forest fires at Paradise Lake & the Bay d’Espoir Hwy (Rte 360) have been fueled by high winds & drought-like conditions. The fire is unpredictable; currently, the head of the fire is spreading northeast towards Mount Peyton, bringing significant smoke. #GovNL #nltraffic #nlwx pic.twitter.com/5dVMOnhNkw

— Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture NL (@FFA_GovNL) August 4, 2022

I know that Bay d'Espoir Highway was open on July 26th as my friends were able to leave by that Highway to continue with their vacation and then return home. I believe that the Bay d'Espoir highway (360) linking remote communities to the Trans Canada Highway has been closed since this past weekend. Emergency helicopter transportation is available. A state of emergency exists for a portion of central Newfoundland with residents being asked to be ready to evacuate.

There is a good report on these fires from the CBC (August 8, late morning) with a five minute video report where you will hear Newfoundland and Labrador's Forest Protection Supervisor, Jeff Motty, report on the fire. I will embed the video below (available from CBC) but I do  not always know how long media outlets maintain their embed, hopefully the article will have the video if the embed code does not work. Of note Motty says that there may be rain showers in the forecast for Tuesday. He also reports that eight water bombers and two bird dog aircraft are available to work these fires.

2022 wild fire season: forest fires in Newfoundland (July 27)

I am writing to follow-up on my July 25th post where I referenced some forest fires that are still currently burning in Newfoundland and the use of CL-415 water bombers on some of the wildfires. 

According to this July 27th tweet from the Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture NL, the Bay D'Espoir Highway which is the only road in and out of the  Cannaigre Peninsula in Newfoundland. The highway was reopened with some intermittent closures during daylight hours yesterday. So it would seem that folk on the Cannaigre Peninsula, residents and visitors, were able to get off of the peninsula by the highway. 

I obtained fire information from the Active Forest Fires page (appears to be updated daily) of the Newfoundland Labrador Department of Fisheries Forestry and Agriculture, they also have a twitter account which may be found here. The other currently burning 2022 forest fires listed on the Active Forest Fires page are, fires that are under control or partially contained are noted:

• Fire 135, Conway Lake reported on July 23, 0.4 hectares (under control)
• Fire 136 Paradise Lake reported on July 24 , 826 hectares
• Fire 137 Triton Brook/Deer Pond reported on July 24, 19.0 hectares
• Fire 138 Newton Lake reported on July 24, 59 hectares (50% contained)
• Fire 139 Bay d'Espoir Highway reported on July 24, 751 hectares
• Fire 140 Newton Lake West reported on July 25, 3.5 hectares (40% contained)

For more information read the CBC's July 27th report on these forest fires, I was interested that the CBC reported on the status of medical care on the peninsula:

The fire has also cut people off from medical care at the hospital in Grand Falls-Windsor. In an email, Central Health says the air ambulance was used once during the highway closure but wouldn't say how many patients were flown out of the area because a spokesperson said they 'can't speak to any details around patients.'

There is currently no doctor at the peninsula's heath centre due to staffing shortages. In a posting to its website, Central Health said the emergency room is closed until Thursday at 8 a.m. NT. The health authority had offered a virtual emergency room during the road closure.