Premier Andrew Furey told reporters on Sunday that the state of emergency was declared last night in the Grand Falls-Windsor, Bishop’s Falls and Connaigre Peninsula areas, “not to create panic” but to ensure residents and officials are ready to react if the situation deteriorates further. “In the last 36 hours, things have changed,” Fourey told a news conference, along with Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Derrick Bragg and Department of Natural Resources incident commander Craig Coady. “We predicted we could manage it. However, with the wind shift, we fear there will be a significant smoke effect.” Fuey said the current forecast path of the fire itself is not directly affecting any communities, but changing wind patterns were making the situation difficult to handle. He said that prompted him to ask Public Safety Minister John Hogan to declare a state of emergency and urged some neighboring communities to prepare for a possible evacuation. “This is a dynamic, evolving situation, as all fires are, but we can’t wait until the last minute to act now,” Furey said. The fire has been burning for nearly two weeks in central Newfoundland and has caused road closures, including the Bay d’Espoir Highway is the only road connecting the communities of Harbor Breton, Hermitage and Conne River to the Trans-Canada Highway, the main thoroughfare in the whole province. Coady said the fires will likely continue to burn out of control because of the weather. “Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen some extreme fire behavior,” he said at the news conference. “We expect to see that continue for today and possibly the next few days. This is due to the strong winds and low humidity.” Coady and Furey both said smoke poses the most significant risk to nearby communities, adding that winds also make it difficult for firefighters to control the flames. “If the (water) bombers can’t see in front of the fire and there’s a lot of smoke, it’s not safe for them to operate,” Coady said. Overall, the province is using water bombers — two from Quebec, in addition to the province assisting with a bird dog aircraft — and helicopters to fight the fires. In a video posted on social media Saturday night, Fourey described a wildfire as the largest the province has seen since 1961. As of Sunday, the provincial government reported four active fires covering about 10,800 hectares. Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair tweeted that he had approved Newfoundland’s request for government assistance and that Canadian Armed Forces personnel would be deployed to assist provincial and municipal officials in evacuation efforts. Furey said he asked the Central Health District to create an evacuation plan for hospitals, long-term care homes and personal care homes. “We strongly advise all citizens in the mentioned areas to be alert for future possible evacuations,” the prime minister said. The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture tweeted Sunday morning that the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army will provide emergency services to those stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway as a result of the closure of the Bay d’Espoir Highway. Meanwhile, Bragg asked residents to be “smart.” The department said the outdoor fire ban, which was extended across the province on Sunday, prohibits fires on or within 300 meters of forest land. “Last night I saw two people throwing cigarette butts and I thought that was absolutely crazy,” Bragg said. “This is reckless and we don’t need it.” “You can have a barbecue, but no, and I can’t say it’s strong enough, if you’re out in a wooded area, don’t have any kind of open fire.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 7, 2022. — This story was produced with financial assistance from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.