Several fires in the Miramichi area continued to burn out of control or were deemed “of note” by the New Brunswick government on Thursday.
The province’s fire dashboard reported a peak of 10 out of control fires in the evening, all but one located in the Northumberland region. There were 186 firefighters deployed at that time.
There were several new fires in the Miramichi area Thursday, after thunder and lighting storms rolled through, including some the Department of Natural Resources said are “under review.”
An area about 28 kilometres northwest of Miramichi was briefly put under an evacuation advisory on Thursday afternoon, but that was lifted by the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization at 3:50 p.m.
WATCH | ‘Attack unit’ takes off from forestry centre to help fight N.B. wildfires: 
These choppers are fighting N.B. wildfires from the sky
Firefighters based at Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre in Fredericton take off Thursday.
The Oldfield Road fire, which has been burning for more than a week, is still out of control but has remained at about 1,358 hectares since the last update.
The province’s dashboard shows a fire titled Lumsden Road, northwest of Miramichi, was detected on Thursday at 7 a.m. While it’s listed as contained, the province also deems it a fire “of note,” along with the Oldfield Road fire.
The Irishtown fire near Moncton, which covered 45 hectares, remains “of note” as of Thursday night but has been contained.
Miramichi East MLA Michelle Conroy said everybody in the area has been volunteering to help in some way, as crew continue to battle the province’s largest wildfire.
Miramichi East MLA Michelle Conroy says many in the area have been volunteering to help. (Government of New Brunswick )
“Right now, the biggest way to help is just to be there for support and to stay out of the woods and to stay safe, and people are abiding to that,” she said.
On Wednesday, Conroy was at the wharf — a place she likes to go whenever she has a few minutes to watch the crews of water bombers.
While she was there, she said it briefly started to rain.
“It was the most joyous moment of time when we [saw] the sky open up,” said Conroy.
WATCH | Fire crews refuel in Miramichi: 
Crews continue to battle fire in Miramichi area
Planes land, refuel at Miramichi Airport before taking off to resume combatting the Oldfield Road fire.
“But right after that came a huge lightning storm. … It came in every direction, and we had, I think, 10 new fires as of yesterday afternoon.”
Natural Resources Minister John Herron said the lightning strikes contributed to the new fires that popped up, but water bombers were able to snuff many of them out immediately afterwards.
“We really consider we have … at most 15 minutes to get at a spark before it potentially comes to something,” said Herron.
A helicopter leaving Fredericton’s Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre is used to transport firefighters to a first spark. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)
The fire near the former Heath Steele mine concerns officials, said Herron, because of the difficult terrain in the area. He said there’s a plane in the air Thursday morning to observe the fire from an aerial perspective and provide information to the water bombers.
Herron said there is a request in for an additional “super scooper” water bomber, which can reload on the fly.
There was no longer an Environment Canada heat warning in effect Thursday, but the province saw temperatures in the low to high 30s early in the week, with humidex values in the 40s.
The Miramichi and Moncton areas both had special weather statements in effect for air quality.
Natural Resources Minister John Herron says lightning strikes contributed to the new fires that popped up, but water bombers were able to snuff many of them out immediately afterward. (CBC)
In a news release, Vitalité Health Network said people 65 or older, pregnant people, infants and young children, people with existing health conditions and people who work outdoors are all more likely to be affected by wildfire smoke.
The network advised those people to avoid strenuous outdoor activities and get medical help if they experience any symptoms.
Vitalité said the milder symptoms include eye, nose and throat irritation, a headache or mild cough, while more serious symptoms include wheezing, chest pains or a severe cough.
Wearing a respirator, such as a properly fitted and certified N95, can reduce someone’s exposure to fine particles in the smoke, the network said.
Crews in Miramichi refuel one of the water bombers fighting fires in the region. (Ian Curran/CBC)
New Brunswick communities have been setting maximum daily temperature records throughout the week.
The Bathurst, Doaktown, Edmundston, Fundy and Miramichi areas all set maximum daily temperatures on Wednesday, according to Environment Canada.
Miramichi hit 36.3 C, surpassing the record of 34.4 that has been held since 1876.