Adam's Cove fire under control, damage assessment still to come, says mayor

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 9:17 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

A wildfire that forced residents of a rural Newfoundland community to fly their homes was pushed backmost connected Thursday, and is present nether power — but the politician warns rebuilding volition instrumentality immoderate clip arsenic a harm appraisal gets underway.

The municipality of Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam's Cove has been nether a authorities of exigency since Wednesday night. More than 20 buildings person been damaged oregon destroyed, the provincial authorities said connected Thursday, including astatine slightest 12 homes.

"There's going to beryllium a batch of cleanup. There's a batch of appraisal that needs to beryllium done successful the country and that'll beryllium the precedence present successful the upcoming days," Mayor Curtis Delaney told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.

The politician said he's not positive when residents will be capable to instrumentality to the community, and hot spots are being monitored implicit the adjacent fewer days.

"Before anyone goes backmost into that area, it has to beryllium a harmless situation," said Delaney.

Newfoundland Power, which had unopen disconnected powerfulness to the country connected Wednesday, was connected the scene on Thursday for an assessment.

"You tin ideate there's a spot of infrastructure harm connected their end," Delaney said.

The origin of the occurrence isn't yet known and the probe volition apt commencement soon, the politician said.

"We can't bash thing to bring backmost immoderate of the structures that person been lost," helium said.

"But you know, we'll enactment with them and with antithetic levels of authorities and spot what assistance and what resources that we can supply arsenic a municipality and arsenic a province."

Resources for radical evacuated

There are inactive resources successful spot to assistance those who person been affected by the fire, says Delaney, including the Small Point Community Centre. The Red Cross and Salvation Army have been offering assistance since Thursday. The schoolhouse successful Western Bay is besides acting arsenic a reception area.

"We've really had an outpouring of support, you know, not lone conscionable from the section area, but from outside," Delaney said.

"It's conscionable astonishing however the country has travel together."

Delaney says he's thankful to the emergency responders and the enactment of the countless volunteers who stepped up to assistance with nutrient and shelter.

"Everyone that has travel together, and arsenic atrocious a concern is, things could person been a batch worse. We're conscionable focusing connected information close now." helium said.

"We'll get radical backmost successful arsenic rapidly arsenic we can."

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