These are hot, dry days in parts of Labrador and forestry crews are keeping a close eye on the situation.
Labrador West is the only area of the province where the forest fire hazard index is high.
The North West River area in central Labrador has a index of moderate. The hazard rate is low in virtually all other areas of the province.
Jeff Motty, Regional Duty Officer with the Department of Natural Resources forestry division, says property owners have to be prepared in case of a forest fire.
Recently, lightning strikes caused fire to break out in Labrador West, so you never really know where a fire will occur. He encourages people to go onto the Fire Start Canada website for information on preparation.
It only makes sense that Lab West would be the hot spot in the province given its proximity to Quebec. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has sent personnel and equipment to that province to help fight wildfires.
Wabush Mayor Concerned With Waterbomber Location
(Photo via Twitter.)
The mayor of Wabush hopes to raise the attention of the provincial government regarding a waterbomber which was taken out of Labrador West a few years ago and moved to central Labrador.
The shift was done when repairs were being made to the airport and even though that work was completed not long after, the plane remains stationed in Goose Bay.
Wabush was evacuated ten years ago amid a raging forest fire in the region. Mayor Ron Barron says time is of the essence in these situations so having a waterbomber in Goose Bay is not a good situation.
It takes at least an hour-and-a-half to get the plane from Goose Bay to here and a lot can happen in that time as we saw in Fort McMurray, says Barron. “A lot of fears were heightened with all the smoke in this region and the wildfires in Quebec.”
