Justice Minister John Haggie is defending the way in which information was communicated to Adam’s Cove residents during the wildfires last week.

Damage is still being assessed by officials in the town, but over 20 structures are confirmed to have been lost during the wildfire.

There has been criticism from residents of the town about how information was communicated during the emergency—with some arguing emergency alerts should have been issued.

Haggie argues that both the minister of justice and public safety, who was Bernard Davis at the time, and fire services communicated information “directly” and “effectively” with the affected communities.

Haggie says they were dealing with a “very localized area” and communications were “prompt and active.” He argues that there was a “significant presence” in the communities, and the reason why that wasn’t seen as well outside the area is due to the effectiveness of the firefighters on the ground.