Evacuation advisory lifted as several fires burn in Miramichi region
Several fires in Miramichi area are out of control or deemed 'of note' by the province
Several fires in the Miramichi area continue to burn out of control or have been deemed "of note" by the New Brunswick government, according to an afternoon fire update.
An area about 28 kilometres northwest of Miramichi was briefly put under an evacuation advisory on Thursday, but this was lifted by the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization at 3:50 p.m.
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The province's afternoon fire summary shows the Oldfield Road fire, which has been burning for more than a week, is still out of control but has remained at about 1,358 hectares since the last update.
Four fires, indicated by red icons, were listed as out of control, on the government's fire watch dashboard as of Thursday morning. (Government of New Brunswick)
The province's dashboard shows a fire titled Lumsden Road, northwest of Miramichi, which was briefly put under an advisory, was detected on Thursday at 7 a.m. While it's listed as contained, the province also deems it a fire "of note," along with the Oldfield Road fire.
There were several new fires in the Miramichi area Thursday, after thunder and lighting storms rolled through, including some the Department of Natural Resources said are "under review."
The Maple Glen fire, west of Miramichi and northwest of Natoaganeg, or Eel Ground First Nation, was listed as contained at 5.5 hectares in a morning update from the Department of Natural Resources.
A fire detected at 3 p.m. Wednesday, called the Chief's fire, is burning around 25 hectares near the Heath Steele Mine. It was listed in the afternoon report as out of control.
The update also shows an out-of-control fire called the Serpentine fire, in the northwest of the province east of Nictau.
The afternoon report said 19 fires in total are burning across New Brunswick.
Quickly changing situation
Earlier Thursday morning, three new out-of-control fires were listed on the government's fire watch website, but two of those have since been downgraded to "contained."
Another small fire, just west of Bathurst, was also listed as out of control Thursday morning but later changed to contained at 0.7 hectares.
The Irishtown fire near Moncton, which covered 45 hectares, has since been contained.
(The Weather Network/Canva)
Contained fires have barriers surrounding them, but are still burning on all or some edges, and have the potential to jump the barrier.
Miramichi East MLA Michelle Conroy said everybody in the area has been volunteering to help in some way, as crew continue to battle the province's largest wildfire.
"Right now, the biggest way to help is just to be there for support and to stay out of the woods and to stay safe, and people are abiding to that," she said.
On Wednesday, Conroy was at the wharf — a place she likes to go whenever she has a few minutes to watch the crews of water bombers.
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While she was there, she said it briefly started to rain.
"It was the most joyous moment of time when we [saw] the sky open up," said Conroy.
"But right after that came a huge lightning storm. … It came in every direction, and we had, I think, 10 new fires as of yesterday afternoon."
Natural Resources Minister John Herron said the lightning strikes contributed to the new fires that popped up, but water bombers were able to snuff many of them out immediately afterwards.
"We really consider we have … at most 15 minutes to get at a spark before it potentially comes to something," said Herron.
The fire near the former Heath Steele mine concerns officials, said Herron, because of the difficult terrain in the area. He said there's a plane in the air Thursday morning to observe the fire from an aerial perspective and provide information to the water bombers.
Herron said there is a request in for an additional "super scooper" water bomber, which can reload on the fly.
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Chance of showers
There's no longer an Environment Canada heat warning in effect Thursday, but the province has been seeing temperatures in the low to high 30s for the last several days, with humidex values in the 40s.
According to CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin, New Brunswick has a chance of showers Thursday with a risk of thunderstorms. Temperatures could range from 21 C along the coast to 29 C inland.
The Acadian Peninsula, the Miramichi area and Moncton area all have special weather statements in effect for air quality.
In a news release sent Thursday morning, Vitalité Health Network said people 65 or older, pregnant people, infants and young children, people with existing health conditions and people who work outdoors are all more likely to be affected by wildfire smoke.
The network advised those people to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and get medical help if they experience any symptoms.
Vitalité said the milder symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, a headache or mild cough, while more serious symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or a severe cough.
Wearing a respirator, such as a properly fitted and certified N95, can reduce someone's exposure to fine particles in the smoke, the network said.
Miramichi breaks temperature record from 1876
New Brunswick communities have been setting maximum daily temperature records throughout the week, and Wednesday was no exception.
The Bathurst, Doaktown, Edmundston, Fundy and Miramichi areas all set maximum daily temperatures on Wednesday, according to Environment Canada.
Miramichi hit 36.3 C, surpassing the record of 34.4 that has been held since 1876.
Four New Brunswick wildfires are listed as out-of-control, according to the government's fire watch, on Thursday morning.
This includes the Oldfield Road fire in the Miramichi area that has been burning for over a week and currently encompasses 1,358 hectares.
The new out-of-control labels include a fire just northwest of the one in Miramichi near the old Heath Steele Mine, deemed the "Cheif's" fire, which encompasses 25 hectares and was detected around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
One of the other out-of-control fires, added to the dashboard Thursday morning, is called Maple Glen, also west of Miramichi and northwest of Natoaganeg, or Eel Ground First Nation. It is listed as five hectares with 30 firefighters working to put it out, according to the government's wildfire reporting summary.
Another fire listed as out of control is called the Caché fire, at 0.1 hectares, and is just west of Bathurst. It was detected around 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The Irishtown fire near Moncton, which covered 45 hectares, has since been contained. Contained fires have barriers surrounding them, but are still burning on all or some edges, and have the potential to jump the barrier.
As of Thursday, there is no longer an Environment Canada heat warning in effect, but the province has been seeing temperatures in the low to high 30s for the last number of days, with humidex values in the 40s.
But the Acadian Peninsula, the Miramichi area and Moncton area all have special weather statements in effect for air quality. The statements suggest people keep windows and doors closed and reduce exposure to wildfire smoke by wearing a respirator mask when outdoors.
According to CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin, New Brunswick has a chance of showers Thursday with a risk of thunderstorms. Temperatures could range from 21 C along the coast to 29 C inland.
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This article, written by Hannah Rudderham, was originally published for CBC News. It contains files from Information Morning in the Summer.
Thumbnail image courtesy: Pierre Fournier/CBC