Busy forest fire season officially ends

There have been 101 forest fires recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador so far in 2023 that burned a total of 21,883 hectares, the provincial government recently announced. A news release announced the official end to the forest fire season. The vast majority of area burned occurred in remote parts of Labrador, accounting for 99 per cent of the total area burned for the entire province. There were no significant incidents, injuries, or property damage. “The public is asked to remain vigilant when setting fires in and around forested areas, as the risk of forest fire remains even after the season is declared to be over,” the release stated. During forest fire season the provincial government deployed firefighters, Incident Management Team (IMT) members, equipment and water bombers to assist other provinces in battling extreme forest fire conditions. Through the Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, the provincial government responded to 18 requests. Over the course of the season, a total of 40 firefighters and 14 IMT members were deployed to Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, while water bombers were also deployed to Nova Scotia and Quebec on multiple occasions.