A group of people watch the smoke from the Paddy’s Pond, N.L. wildfire on Aug. 12, 2025. (Mark Crosby/CBC)
Latest updates:
Evacuation order in place for Three Island Pond area of Paradise. Evacuees are advised to travel north to Topsail Road. Anyone needing accommodations should travel to Admiral’s Academy in Kelligrews. Regional state of emergency issued for parts of Conception Bay South, St. John’s, and Conception Bay North. Out-of-control fire continues to burn near Paddy’s Pond industrial area. Southlands and Galway neighbourhoods of St. John’s added to evacuation alert. Portions of Paradise and C.B.S. also on evacuation alert. Evacuation order in place for industrial area near Paddy’s Pond.
An evacuation order has been issued for the Three Island Pond area in Paradise late Tuesday afternoon.
Evacuees are asked to evacuate immediately, and travel north to Topsail Road. Police say a portion of Peacekeepers Way is closed in both directions between Minerals Road and the cloverleaf on Pitts Memorial Drive/Outer Ring Road to assist with wildfire suppression efforts near Paddy’s Pond.
Anyone needing accommodations should go to the reception centre and emergency shelter at Admiral’s Academy, located at 835 Conception Bay Hwy in Kelligrews.
The St. John’s SPCA is offering pet carriers, crates and food for evacuated animals, but it does not have space Tuesday night for more animals to stay at the shelter because it is full. The animal shelter at 115 RCAF Rd. in St. John’s will be staffed until midnight.
The Three Island Pond evacuation order comes just hours after the provincial government issued a regional state of emergency Tuesday afternoon for parts of St. John’s, Paradise, and Conception Bay South as the Paddy’s Pond wildfire continued to burn out of control just outside of St. John’s.
Meanwhile, an evacuation alert is in place for the Southlands and Galway neighbourhoods of St. John’s, as well as parts of Paradise and Conception Bay South.
Also on Tuesday, crews in Harbour Main-Chapel’s Cove-Lakeview responded to a brush fire near the main road by the post office. The fire was contained, and crews continued to work on hot spots early Tuesday evening.
ATV ban in Coast of Bays
Premier John Hogan said in a briefing Tuesday afternoon that the province is looking at all possible options to maintain public safety during the wildfires, which may include restrictions on the use of ATVs.
While the provincial government hasn’t put any bans in place as of Tuesday evening, the Coast of Bays region on the south coast of Newfoundland is temporarily prohibiting all ATV use on roadways, trails and in the forest.
“This temporary measure is being put in place to help prevent potential fires during this period of high temperatures and extremely dry conditions. The ban will remain in effect until the weather cools and conditions improve,” said a written statement posted by Hermitage Mayor Steve Crewe.
Police investigate Paddy’s Pond fire
The fire in Paddy’s Pond is now under police investigation.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary spokesperson Const. James Cadigan said there was a vehicle driving along the pole line where the fire started on Monday. He said the vehicle left the area just before the fire was reported.
Cadigan said a female travelling in a dark SUV that left Paddy’s Pond and headed east on the Trans-Canada Highway may have information to support the investigation.
Police are looking for video footage between 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. N.T. in the area of Peacekeepers Way and the Trans-Canada Highway near Paddy’s Pond.
‘It’s going to be a troublesome day’
Meanwhile, Hogan said one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s water bombers ran into maintenance issues fighting the fires. He said more assets are on the way, including two Black Hawk helicopters from Utah which can operate at night.
Provincial fire duty officer Mark Lawlor also warned that it won’t be an easy job to put out the fires due to the dry weather conditions.
On Monday, the out-of-control Paddy’s Pond wildfire quickly grew to 200 hectares in a few hours.
“We’re doing everything we can to limit the movement of this fire, hopefully contain it,” Lawlor told CBC’s St. John’s Morning Show. “It’s going to be a troublesome day.”
A wildfire burning near the densely populated St. John’s area has ramped up the danger in a region already besieged by smoke and flames. As fires continue to burn in Conception Bay North and residents flee their homes, the new fire threatens to displace thousands more.
Volunteer firefighters to be compensated
Since May, volunteer firefighters have battled several brush and wildfires, including two major wildfires in Conception Bay North.
As the Kingston wildfire continues to grow more than a week after its ignition, Hogan said volunteer firefighters will be compensated.
“We have to recognize the volunteer firefighters who possess the necessary training to aid in this wildfire relief,” he said.
Hogan said compensation for volunteer firefighters in Newfoundland and Labrador is not the norm, but this wildfire season is not normal.
“The situation we face today is completely different than any situation that we faced in years, and probably not what they thought they were signing up for, but they’re certainly not shying away from the challenge,” he said.
The provincial government will provide more information on the compensation packages in the coming days.
Smoke from a fire in Conception Bay North, N.L., can be seen from Burnt Point on Aug. 12, 2025. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
According to the provincial wildfire dashboard as of Tuesday evening, there were nine fires burning across the province, with five burning out of control.
Thousands of people have been forced to flee their communities, while many others are waiting to see if they will need to leave quickly due to the wildfires.
Hogan said the Kingston fire has spread to Ochre Pit Cove and Western Bay. He anticipates structures have been lost.
“We anticipate, based on what we can see at this moment, that there is significant loss in both of these communities,” he said.
Lawlor said work on the fire guard on the Kingston fire’s southern end will continue on Tuesday, and they are planning a second fire guard on its northern end.
Kingston fire grows
Around noon on Tuesday, the town of Small Point-Adam’s Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove announced on social media the Kingston fire had grown to 6,370 hectares.
“As predicted, yesterday was a very challenging day for firefighting. Weather conditions are similar for today, so the message remains the same,” said the statement.
It added the Paddy’s Pond fire required some of the firefighting resources being used at the Kingston fire, and “while this is difficult to hear,” the town urged residents to trust the decision.
The Martin Lake fire is also still out of control, and there was some growth on its northeast corner and southwest corner on Monday.
“We had extremely high winds, high temperatures and low relative humidity which led to some growth,” said Lawlor.
Meanwhile, Lawlor said the Holyrood fire is considered under control, and while there were a couple of hot spots on Monday, crews “jumped” on it.
There are also two wildfires burning in Labrador, the Udjuktok Bay fire and Travespine fire.
Lawlor said the Udjuktok Bay fire is being monitored because it’s not close to any major assets.
He said there was progress on the Traverspine fire, located 19 kilometres south of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, on Monday.
The areas of the map highlighted in purple and green are under an evacuation alert. (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador)
Environment Canada has issued two weather alerts for the province, an air quality statement is in effect for the northern Avalon Peninsula and St. John’s area, as well as a heat warning for most of the province.
As of Tuesday morning, the provincial fire hazard map lists most of the island of Newfoundland at an extreme risk of fire. Parts of Labrador range from a moderate risk to extreme.
A province-wide fire ban is in effect until September.
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