Badger residents told to be ready to flee as a wildfire threatens community | CBC News
The town council in Badger, Newfoundland and Labrador is telling residents they need to be ready to leave their homes at a moment’s notice due to a wildfire threatening the community.
The forest fire started near the community following a lightning storm in the area Tuesday afternoon.
The town is now under an evacuation alert.
“Fire and emergency services will continue to monitor and update the fire and we will issue updates as they become available,” said a statement on the council’s Facebook page, posted around 7:30 a.m. NT on Wednesday.
“Please be prepared in the event that such an evacuation could possibly take place throughout the day.”
According to the provincial fire hazard map, the entire central Newfoundland region is considered to be between a high and extreme risk for fire.
‘Challenging day’
Forestry Minister Lisa Dempster also acknowledged the seriousness of the wildfire situation in central Newfoundland.
“We’re going to have a challenging day ahead today with Badger, by all accounts,” she told CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning.
She advised people to follow the town’s official social media accounts to stay up to date regarding the evacuation status.
She also said government is making plans to deal with future forest fires.
“Here at home we’re actually moving to increase the resources that we have. We currently have four 4-15 tankers. We have just invested federal, provincial money — almost $15 million to repair a fifth water tanker, recognizing the need for that,” said Dempster.
She added they need to recruit more people into the field.
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