EMBREE, N.L. – Two fire departments and a water bomber worked to put out a brush fire in Embree April 26.
Embree Fire Chief Trent Hillier indicated the call came in at 4:52 p.m. and a crew arrived on the scene just off the road to Lewisporte a few kilometres outside of the town within five minutes. As a result of the dry conditions and high winds, the fire was quickly growing out of control.
The Lewisporte Fire Rescue was brought in to support the Embree crew, and a passing water bomber spotted the blaze and pitched in, dumping three loads of water, according to Hillier.
Once the fire was under control, firefighters went to work putting out hot spots, and the fire was completely extinguished by around 7 p.m.
Deputy chief for the Lewisporte Fire Rescue Calvin Smart agreed that the winds and dry weather exacerbated the situation, and that brush fires this time of year are not uncommon.
“It’s not unexpected,” he told The Pilot April 27. “With the sunny conditions and the windy weather, it don’t matter if there’s a bit of snow on the ground still.
People don’t realize how quickly it can spread under those conditions.”
According to Hillier, there was no property damage as a result of the incident. No information about the cause of the fire was provided.
