Having a fire this long weekend? A forest fire officer says campers need to be cautious

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 4:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial wood occurrence work serviceman says it's important to beryllium cautious implicit the Victoria Day weekend, fixed the already precocious fig of reported wildfires truthful acold this year.

The Newfoundland and Labrador progressive wildfire dashboard has reported 65 wildfires already this season. 

Jeff Motty said numbers person skyrocketed due to the fact that of adust conditions. Just 7 wildfires had been reported astatine the aforesaid clip past year.

A caller large-scale occurrence successful the country of Adam's Cove, which saw homes destroyed, a authorities of exigency called and residents evacuated for days, points to the value of keeping fires nether control. 

Fire crews besides fought a wildfire successful the Whitbourne country earlier connected Friday.

"Fire chiefs and occurrence departments, they're each benignant of acrophobic going into this weekend. Because we're going to spot immoderate nicer upwind going into this weekend. And, you know, with nicer upwind comes the accidental to person campfires," Motty told CBC News connected Friday.

Motty said earlier immoderate occurrence is started, it's important to archetypal cheque section regulations, upwind conditions and the hazard of a wildfire successful the area.

The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture presently lists astir of the state arsenic having zero to debased hazard of a fire, but determination are immoderate exceptions.

WATCH | Check the upwind and your ATV muffler — for occurrence information precautions: 

Parts of cardinal and southwestern Newfoundland, southbound of Flat Bay, are nether a mean risk. 

Terra Nova National Park was nether a precocious hazard connected Friday.

"You privation to person your tools alongside you to beryllium capable to extinguish that campfire erstwhile you're done with it. So having a campfire, you privation to marque definite it's connected a prepared site, [making sure] it's not excessively windy," Motty said.

"You besides privation to marque definite that you ever support that occurrence attended. And erstwhile you're done for the evening, you privation to marque definite you thoroughly soak that occurrence until you cognize it's retired for sure."

Motty said it's besides important to support immoderate instrumentality you mightiness usage implicit the play — similar an ATV oregon chainsaw — successful clean, moving order. He said they tin beryllium among the starring causes for human-caused wildfires.

"That portion of ungraded that gets up connected the muffler, that tin drawback connected occurrence and autumn disconnected down you. You could beryllium driving a agelong region and not adjacent cognize that you've created a wildfire down you," helium said.

Motty said a provincial occurrence prohibition isn't being considered astatine the moment, but upwind crews crossed the state are monitoring conditions.

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