Evacuation order lifted in central Labrador after wildfires forced them to flee

There was relief in central Labrador Wednesday night as officials lifted a wildfire evacuation order, allowing people to return to their homes in Churchill Falls two weeks after they were asked to flee.

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Robert Dawe was among the 750 residents and workers who fled the town on June 19, after a sudden change in the wind drove the flames quickly toward the community. He said his phone lit up with messages on Wednesday night from family and co-workers who had just found out they could finally go home.

"I said, 'What's going on?' and everybody's sharing the information," he said in an interview. "I said, 'Well, that's perfect.'"

It's been "a rough few weeks, a crazy few weeks," away from home, he added.

Churchill Falls is home to about 700 people, and it's a "company town" for workers at the nearby hydroelectric generating station, which serves Labrador and Quebec. When the evacuation order was issued two weeks ago, residents were given just 45 minutes to flee.

It was an ordeal, Dawe said. He and hundreds of other drove through a lightning storm about three hours east on a remote two-lane highway to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, as per the evacuation orders.

But the real fear began last week, on June 25, when the fire jumped over the Churchill River, which was the last natural barrier between the community and the flames. Dawe said he watched in horror as the flames roared into view on the airport's web camera, and then spread across the tarmac.

"I was sick to my stomach," he said. "I figured everything would have been gone, everything. But everything was spared. Not one building got damaged."

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro had left a small team in place to operate the generating station after the evacuation order on June 19. But when the fire jumped the river and began barrelling toward the town, the Crown-owned utility was forced to remove its remaining crews.

The company has been operating the power plant remotely, from Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

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It said Wednesday that the fire was classified as "being held," which means it was no longer spreading.

"Out an abundance of caution we are asking that upon returning, everyone please remain prepared as the situation could still change while the fire remains categorized as ‘being held,'" the company said in an update on its website. "While this is not expected, it’s important that we remain vigilant."

Dawe is a fleet manager with the utility and he, too, has been working remotely from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He said he'd take the next few days to wrap up that work and then head back to Churchill Falls on Sunday, to be in his office on Monday morning.

"I'm excited now," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2024.