The New Brunswick government is no longer calling a fire near Stein Lake “out of control.”
The fire broke out earlier this week in southwestern New Brunswick, with an all-terrain vehicle catching fire and flames rapidly spreading to the trees nearby. It spread quickly under dry, hot conditions, and would eventually take 540 hectares of the forest and one home.
The province has roughly six million hectares of forest — about 83 per cent of the region. So far this year, nearly 878 hectares have been lost to wildfire.
In a Sunday morning update, the province said the 540-hectare fire is listed as “contained,” with 15 firefighters continuing to battle the blaze.
“I got to thank dedicated DNR (Department of Natural Resources) employees for their efforts keeping the region safe and shake all of their hands,” Saint Andrews Mayor Brad Henderson wrote in a tweet.
“Some are remaining here, while some are headed home for a couple days rest before being deployed to battle fire elsewhere in the country. Heroes. Thank you.”
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The Department of Forestry tweeted Sunday that it has lifted its burning ban for Category 1 burning. But officials in Saint John are reminding the public not to start any recreational fires in the city, which municipally continues to remain under probation.
Platoon Chief Brian Wilson said that with strong winds and warm weather, fire embers and ash could quickly be carried away, causing potential for another wildfire.
In an interview with Global News on Saturday, Wilson said that since the ban was put into place on June 1, the Saint John Fire Department has been called to burn complaints throughout the city, deploying resources to extinguish the fires. The platoon chief said they’ve had “many concerns” over the fires in the city.
“We’ve had an extremely dry season, and the current risk hazards have been high,” Wilson said
“We’ve had a number of fires that are uncontrolled and a number of forest fires in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.”
He said the area hadn’t seen anything like the wildfires in the Maritimes in a long time.
The City of Saint John is set to re-look into its fire ban on Monday, with no word yet on when the ban will be completely lifted.
Wilson noted that rain throughout the weekend has certainly helped.
— with files from Nathalie Sturgeon
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