Among the structures lost in the fire in Conception Bay North is Cabot Academy in Western Bay.
Education Minister Bernard Davis acknowledges it’s a “massive loss.” He says the sixty students will be accommodated in other schools wherever they happen to be.
Education Minister Bernard Davis (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador/YouTube)
However, some schools are being used as emergency hubs and shelters for evacuees, which complicates the process. Something which the minister says the department is in the process of working through.
“Rest assured, all students and staff will have a place in a classroom or a position in a school this upcoming school year. Within our education system, everyone will be ready to help.”
Views of the Conception Bay North fire from Bay de Verde and the fire break on the northern flank (Vintage Bay de Verde/Facebook)
Frustration and anxiety is high
Bay de Verde Mayor Gerard Murphy says the fire has to be stopped.
“The volunteers on the ground are exhausted physically and mentally, they have done an awesome job, all of these volunteer fire departments. We have all of these people displaced, the anguish and stress that they’re going through…but in the end, the fire must be stopped.”
Murphy says residents want to see as many air assets in the sky working on the fire as possible, but as the premier and fire officials indicated in today’s latest briefing, waterbombers can’t fly in certain smoke and cloud cover conditions.
