Water bombers were pulled off a growing fire near Churchill Falls on Tuesday evening, as a fire duty officer in Newfoundland and Labrador says they were ineffective against the sheer heat of the fast spreading fire. Mark Lawlor told CBC News that the fire has burned across the Trans-Labrador Highway and is now nearing the airstrip that services Churchill Falls. “We had Rank 5, Rank 6 fire there today. Those are the highest ranks we have, which indicates a fast moving, hot fire,” Lawlor said, referring to how burning wildfires are categorized. “They tried some indirect attack on it, and then after that we pulled them out. It was being ineffective on the fire.” …As a precautionary measure, Hydro had begun releasing water at its Churchill Falls power plant Monday night in case the Crown corporation needed to remove even more staff from an evacuated community already under serious fire threat.