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Churchill Falls residents on edge over forest fire after town makes hasty evacuation
Emergency centre set up at YMCA closing as all residents have been taken care of
The emergency operations centre set up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay will close on Thursday evening, the town says, as the hundreds of people who fled from wildfires in Churchill Falls found other places to spend the night.
As the government ordered a ban on open fires across all of Newfoundland and most of Labrador, officials put all major firefighting resources against an out-of-control fire that is on the doorstep of one of North America’s largest power plants.
On Wednesday night, forestry officials ordered the hasty evacuation of Churchill Falls, a company town that exists to keep Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro’s generating station running. The massive hydroelectric plant provides power to the province and about 15 per cent of neighbouring Quebec’s power.
There are two major fires west of Churchill Falls, with the closer one putting Churchill Falls at peril. It is separated only by the Churchill River — a waterway that flames could quickly cross.
On Thursday, Premier Andrew Furey announced a provincial fire ban was in effect.
“The bulk of our assets are deployed in Labrador right now and as a result we want to make sure we don’t have subsequent, other threats that could dilute efforts in fighting the fire in Churchill Falls,” he told reporters.
