Residents who live in the Irish Town area of New Brunswick have been warned to be prepared to flee because of a forest fire burning in the area, according to provincial officials.
“People from Irishtown, Tankville, Évangéline and Lakeville should be ready to evacuate on short notice,” Minister of Public Safety Robert Gauvin said.
He said the government will make certain to contact everyone in the event an evacuation is deemed necessary.
“We will inform you. You’ll see it on TV, you’ll hear it on radio, you’ll read it on their phones and on your computers,” he told reporters on Monday afternoon. “We are going to find a way to reach you.”
The fire near Irish Town is about 45 hectares in size, up from 30 earlier in the morning, according to provincial officials.
It is one of three which are considered to be out of control in the province with another occurring near Miramichi, which is around 450 hectares.
A third, new fire has sprung up near Bathurst.
“I’m optimistic that that we’ll get hold of that particular third event very quickly,” Minister of Natural Resources John Herron said.
While the fire near Miramichi is much larger than the others, the wildfire near Irishtown is in reach of a more populous area, so the province has diverted resources tackle the blaze.
“Around Irishtown that the the area of concern that particular polygon has as many as 900 structures in that region,” Herron said. “That potentially could an estimated 1,500 persons.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, provincial officials say there are 14 active wildfires, up from 12 in the morning. The other 11 fires are considered to be contained or being patrolled.
With all the fire activity, the province has reached out to other jurisdictions for more help.
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“For the first time, I believe ever, we’ve actually requested boots on the ground from our neighbors,” Herron said.
The minister said his province had put in a request for 60 firefighters from neighbouring areas.
“We’ve already received acknowledgement that we’re halfway there, that an attack unit of 20 persons will be coming from Nova Scotia that there’s a five-person strike team from Prince Edward Island,” Herron said.
He said there are also five firefighters coming from Maine, as well as other resources
There is rain in the forecast for the province this week but it will not put an end to the problem.
“It’s going to help but we’re going to need a lot of rain and prolonged (rain),” wildfire prevention officer Roger Collet said. “Even though we may get 20 (mm), it’s not going to be enough to stop all of this.”
Premier Susan Holt was hoping for a miraculous amount of rain in order to put an end to all of the fires.
“What we need is rain. We need the forests to get the water that they need to not be as dry and as in tinder ready conditions that fires can start with just the slightest bit of heat,” she said.
A restriction on public access to Crown Lands went into effect as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday in N.B.
Government officials said all industrial and recreational activities on Crown land are prohibited due to extremely dry and dangerous conditions. Officials are encouraging private landowners to do the same.
There is also a burn ban and Holt said there have been two tickets issued as a result of people ignoring the order.
A heat warning is in place for the province and hot and humid weather is expected to last until Wednesday with some relief expected by Thursday.
Daytime temperatures are expected to hit as high was 35 C with humidex values between 38 to 43 — except for parts of the coast such as Bay of Fundy which will feel cooler.
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