Evacuated Musgrave Harbour resident ponders fate of home when he returns
Many Musgrave Harbour, N.L., evacuees are being transported to Gander, N.L., where the Canadian Red Cross has established a reception centre. Concerns are growing among residents about what they will find when they return home.
It’s been a summer of evacuation for small towns in Newfoundland, and Musgrave Harbour, N.L., is latest to have its residents forced out of their homes due to extreme wildfire behaviour in the area.
A reception centre was set up in nearby Gander, N.L., as the the fire came within less than two kilometres of Musgrave Harbour.
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Resident Colby West grabbed what he could and evacuated to nearby Lumsden, N.L., but says he’s at risk of losing everything he’s built.
Musgrave Harbour, N.L., wildfire. (Colby West/Submitted to The Weather Network)
“My dream shed, my dream house, my dream room. Things we’re finally coming together, and then for me to have to leave 90 per cent of that behind, just really broke my heart," West told The Weather Network in a recent interview.
Multiple water bombers and a helicopter have been working on the wildfire.
This evacuation comes after a wildfire destroyed more than 20 cabins near Chance Harbour, N.L., during a season that has been unrelenting across the province.
A fire ban is in effect across Newfoundland and Labrador. Open fires are not permitted.
Thumbnail courtesy of Colby West/Submitted to The Weather Network.