ST. JOHN'S — About 20,000 people living in the St. John's, N.L., area were preparing to evacuate their homes and businesses Tuesday as a new wildfire burned near the province's largest city.
Premier John Hogan issued a precautionary evacuation alert late Monday for parts of Paradise and Conception Bay South, two towns southwest of St. John's. New alerts were issued Tuesday for Galway and Southlands, neighbourhoods on the western edge of the port city.
Sharlene Johnson, a single mother living in Conception Bay South, said she could see the churning flames from her home.
“I’m kind of just a sitting duck right now, waiting to see and reading news updates,” she said in an interview Tuesday.
Johnson and her two children live close to a wooded area. They prepared for a possible evacuation by spraying their property with water. They also took pictures of their home in case they need to file an insurance claim.
“I do worry about things like if I have to leave here or if my home was to burn down. It’s something that is now very real to me and it’s terrifying," she said.
In the early morning hours, photos shared on social media showed long lineups at some local gas stations.
“It was like the onset of COVID, where everybody was rushing to get essentials and toiletries,” Johnson said. “It was like mass chaos. I think that amped up the panic as well.”
The new wildfire erupted Monday near Paddy’s Pond, about 15 kilometres south of downtown St. John’s. The fire quickly grew to about two square kilometres and four water bombers were dispatched to douse the flames. Heavy smoke on Tuesday made it difficult to tell how much the fire had grown.
Provincial officials said the fire was burning near electricity transmission lines maintained by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. One line was affected by the flames but no power outages were reported, officials said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, four of the province's active wildfires were considered out of control — three in Newfoundland and one in Labrador.
The largest began over a week ago, near Kingston, N.L., on the northwestern shore of Conception Bay. It encompassed 64 square kilometres by Tuesday afternoon — a 12-square-kilometre increase from the day before.
As of Monday, the flames had forced about 3,000 people in the coastal area from their homes.
In St. John's on Tuesday, the premier said the fire had reached Ochre Pit Cove and Western Bay, causing "significant loss" in both villages.
However, officials don't know how many homes or other buildings have been destroyed because the smoke has been too thick to get an accurate tally, Hogan told reporters.
Water bombers will share the firefighting work between the Kingston and Paddy’s Pond fires, which are fewer than 100 kilometres apart, he said. Four additional helicopters were heading to the province, including two Blackhawk helicopters from Utah, which can help with nighttime operations.
In New Brunswick, two out-of-control wildfires were burning Tuesday. Residents north of Moncton have been told to prepare for evacuation.
The province's wildfire dashboard map showed an out-of-control wildfire reported Monday south of Bathurst had been contained by Tuesday morning.
Despite parched conditions in much of New Brunswick, there have been no evacuations and no homes or other structures have been lost.
Still, 14 air tankers and three helicopters were part of the firefighting effort. Five firefighters from P.E.I. and five from Maine had also arrived to help, and another 20 were expected Wednesday from Nova Scotia.
The out-of-control wildfire north of Miramichi had grown to 11 square kilometres by Tuesday. North of Moncton, the fire near Irishtown had burned less than a square kilometre.
Much of Atlantic Canada has been gripped by unusually hot and dry weather, stoking the conditions for wildfire risk.
Heat warnings were extended across the region at least until Wednesday, with the exception of the southern reaches of Newfoundland. In eastern Newfoundland, the humidity was expected to make it feel as hot as 41 C in some areas, according to Environment Canada.
Fifty-six per cent of Atlantic Canada was classified as abnormally dry, with 90 per cent of Nova Scotia in a moderate drought, said an assessment Tuesday from Agriculture Canada.
The statistics also show that St John’s has received only a third of the rain it usually gets between April and July. In Halifax, the figure is about 40 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2025.
— By Michael MacDonald in Halifax, with files from Sarah Smellie in St. John's, N.L., and Keith Doucette in Halifax.
The Canadian Press
