A town in northeastern Newfoundland has been ordered to evacuate as an out-of-control wildfire closes in and officials declare a state of emergency, sending hundreds of residents fleeing and fearing for their homes. 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, Mr. Chippett said, the blaze was just one kilometre from the community’s homes and “at a very high rank, a Rank 5 in technical terms.” He added that gusty conditions, including wind blowing south and southwest, put the community “directly in the line of the fire.” …Meanwhile, residents of two communities roughly 110 kilometres south of Musgrave Harbour are still on edge as another wildfire roars nearby.
- Newfoundland Govt Press Release: Update on Musgrave Harbour Wildfire
- CBC News, by Abby Cole and Andrew Hawthorn: Musgrave Harbour remains under evacuation order, wildfire now 2 km away from town