A wildfire that forced residents of Small Point-Adam’s Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove in Conception Bay North to flee their community continues to burn out of control Thursday.
The town’s mayor estimates the fire has destroyed 12 homes already, but says they don’t know the full extent of the damage yet.
“As far as we know there’s been no injuries. There’s been property damage. Homes lost. But everyone is currently safe,” Mayor Curtis Delaney told Radio-Canada on Thursday morning.
The town declared a state of emergency Wednesday night, and residents of Adam’s Cove north of Cave Lane were told to evacuate.
Delaney said everyone’s focus right now is getting the fires under control, and he hopes water bombers will be back on the scene.
He’s also hoping the fog will lift so crews can get a better understanding of the scope of the damage.
“As things get cleaned up and hotspots within the community itself are put out, you know, we’ll have a better idea of exactly the damage that’s done,” he said.
He says some evacuees have gone to stay with family and friends, but the town is also using the local community centre and a school as evacuation centres.
“I’ve had a number of people even this morning now, wondering now, ‘Do I have a house? Is my house still standing,'” he said.
The community has a population of around 400 but he says there are also seasonal residents.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the damage that a fire can do in such a short period of time.”
He says it’s not safe for residents to return and told people to get information from the town’s Facebook page.
CBC’s Mark Quinn, who is on the ground in Broad Cove, says while he situation has improved from last night, there are fire spots flaring up. From the Broad Cove community centre he says he can see smoke and if he uses the camera’s zoom function he can also see flames moving.
Quinn said the fog has begun to lift and it’s giving residents hope water bombers will be able to fight the fire.
Power out
According to the province’s active wildfire dashboard, the fire at Adam’s Cove along with another fire burning at Harding’s Pond in Holyrood are out of control.
There are also fires in Fermeuse and Joe’s Lake, northwest of Badger, that are under control.
The RCMP has closed route 70 between Adam’s Cove and Western Bay and police are asking people to head south toward Victoria or north toward Lower Island Cove.
Cabot Academy in Western Bay and Persalvic School Complex in Victoria are also closed.
There is also a power outage in the areas around Kingston and Ochre Pit Cove, affecting approximately 230 customers. Newfoundland Power took the power offline on Wednesday.
Volunteers rally
There are evacuation centres at Persalvic Elementary School in Victoria, the AYLA building on Crutches Road in Lower Island Cove and the Salem Community Centre in Small Point.
Janessa Wheeler, a volunteer at the AYLA building, says last night around 10 people came to the centre, as well as pets like budgie birds, cats and dogs.
She says the residents are in shock and don’t know if they have homes to go back to.
“It’s devastating and it’s sad,” said Wheeler.
There were many people dropping by to help with food and other donations like toiletries, she says, and local restaurants donated food for breakfast.
“It warms my heart to know that there’s people out there willing to do this. You don’t know what to expect. You don’t know when to expect anything coming.”
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