Cabin owners, fire crews racing to save structures from wildfire in Newfoundland

ST. JOHN’S – Cabin owners in northeastern Newfoundland spent much of Friday protecting their structures from a stubborn wildfire, pumping ocean water onto flare-ups stoked by a spate of dry, hot weather.

Ryan Pitts said he spent the day in his boat in the Chance Harbour area, bringing sandwiches and water to the people fighting to keep the flames away from their cabins. Many structures have already succumbed, Pitts said in a telephone interview.

“It’s devastating,” he said. “There was a cabin that went last night, he burned. There’s another cabin that they’re really fighting with, the owners are out there and the helicopters … there were hot spots springing up all around and they were out there, spraying water.”

“There’s fires starting up again with the wind,” Pitts added. “It’s still crazy out there and it’s definitely not over yet.”

There were eight fires burning across Newfoundland and Labrador on Friday, after a heat wave that saw temperatures soar past 30 C in some regions. 

The largest — the Chance Harbour fire — broke out on Monday and encompassed about 12 square kilometres as of Friday afternoon. Provincial fire duty officer Wesley Morgan said water bombers and helicopters were hammering the south end of the blaze to keep it away from nearby towns. 

Efforts were also focused on attacking the fire in the north, where people have cabins that are mainly accessible by boat. 

It’s been a busy week, Morgan said. Two fires ignited on Thursday that crept close to the communities of Lewisporte and Small Point before crews were able to contain them. The crews are working hard in tough conditions, but their spirits are staying high, he said.

Pitts does not have a cabin in the Chance Harbour area, but his uncle and aunt had neighbouring lodges that are now burnt to the ground, he said.

“The wharf is still there, but that’s it. Everything else that they had there is gone,” he said. 

An area known as Pudding Cove has been particularly hard hit: Pitts said all 21 cabins there are destroyed.

“To make a little joke among the heartbreak, the only thing left standing in that cove is one outhouse,” he said.

Pitts has visited the area every day since the fire began, taking photos and videos for the cabin owners filling his inbox with frantic requests because they can’t get out there themselves. It’s crushing to deliver bad news, he said. But he figured he was at least offering people closure.

He said he’ll keep heading out in his boat to bring care packages to cabin owners and check on people’s property for as long as his services are needed. The forecast in the area doesn’t call for rain until Monday, he noted.

The Chance Harbour wildfire is at least the second to destroy buildings in Newfoundland this season. In May, wildfires destroyed roughly 12 homes in the region of Adam’s Cove, along Conception Bay.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.