‘Extreme wildfire behaviour’ forces evacuation of Newfoundland town
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ST. JOHN’S – An out-of-control wildfire on Newfoundland’s northeast coast forced residents of Musgrave Harbour, N.L., to flee the town as officials declared a state of emergency.
The provincial Justice Department sent an alert early Sunday that urged people in the coastal community and nearby Banting Memorial Municipal Park to leave because of “extreme wildfire behaviour” in the area.
Justice and Public Safety Minister John Haggie told reporters later Sunday that the fire was “a significant and serious issue.”
Jamie Chippett, the deputy minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, said that when the fire was first detected Saturday night it was about eight kilometres from Musgrave Harbour.
By noon Sunday, Chippett said the blaze was just one kilometre from the community’s homes and “at a very high rank, a rank five in technical terms.”
“That means very active,” Chippett said.
He added that gusty conditions, including wind blowing south and southwest, “unfortunately puts the community directly in the line of the fire.”
An update from the province’s justice and public safety department Sunday evening said the fire was moving south and east of the community. The update said the fire was unlikely to impact the community Sunday, but was expected to cross the highway towards Banting Memorial Park on Sunday evening or overnight.
The update said the fire measured at about 1,700 hectares and was about two kilometres away from Musgrave Harbour.
Residents from the town of about 950 people were asked to head southwest to Gander, N.L., which is about an hour’s drive along a rural two-lane highway.
Four water bombers and a helicopter and had been dispatched to try to beat back the flames.
Meanwhile, residents of two communities roughly 110 km south of Musgrave Harbour, N.L., were on edge as another wildfire roared nearby.
The fire in the Chance Harbour area ignited July 14 and encompassed an area of about 16.6 square kilometres as of Sunday morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
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