Forestry officials warned cabin owners around Paradise Lake in central Newfoundland to leave on Saturday as the risk of a forest fire in the area spreading increases because hot and windy weather is forecast on Sunday.
Jeff Motty, provincial forest fire duty officer, says so far no cabins or structures have been lost to the fire.
"Our efforts to date have been focused on protecting those structures," said Motty.
"We want to make sure that the cabin owners are not in there, because when things turn for the worse, they turn worse real quick … I mean that fire can jump and get legs and go."
The warning comes ahead of Sunday's weather forecast for Central Newfoundland. It calls for high temperatures and wind speeds, which can cause new fires and the spread of existing forest fires.
Forest roads near the Paradise Lake and Bay d'Espoir fires are also closed, but Route 360 — known as the Bay d'Espoir highway — remains open.
1/3: The forecast for the Central region is calling for sustained high temperatures and high wind speeds starting Sunday. Please be aware of the potential for current forest fires to spread and for new fires to spark. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GovNL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GovNL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nltraffic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nltraffic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nlwx?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nlwx</a> <a href="https://t.co/cX3ihLv2yX">pic.twitter.com/cX3ihLv2yX</a>
In an update provided Saturday morning, the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture also recommends that residents and travellers in the area be prepared for hot weather and have an emergency plan.
The department lists five active forest fires in the province — Deer Pond, two near Newton Lake, one near the Bay d'Espoir Highway, and Paradise Lake.
All fires, except Paradise Lake, are listed as contained to varying degrees.
Paradise Lake remains out of control and three water bombers are assigned to it, as well as 14 workers from the forest protection centre in Gander.
"I cannot stress enough the work that the air services does between the water bomber pilots and the ground crews and the dispatch and all their management staff to be prepared to respond," said Motty.
The Bay d'Espoir highway opened to traffic on Monday evening. According to Motty, the fire there is now 10 per cent contained.
Motty says there are two helicopters, 38 firefighters and eight pump units deployed to the fire Saturday to fight what is estimated to be a 1,035 hectare fire, or more than 2,500 football fields.
"They're making really good progress on that site," said Motty, adding that five millilitres of rain Friday night helped crews.
Motty commends the hard work of all emergency responders involved.
"There's people in Labrador that have come down to the fire and helped fight that fire. So it's a full provincial effort," said Motty.
"Logistically, this is a very complex incident."
As of Saturday morning, a total of 61 forest fires in the province have been recorded so far in 2022, burning a total of 2,714 hectares.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
With files from Heather Gillis
To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.
By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.
Join the conversation Create account
Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6
Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636
It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.
Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem.