Work continued Sunday to fight the Kingston fire, which is now covering around 5,000 hectares.Article contentWildfire ground crews were able to make progress on expanding a fire break on the southern edge of the Kingston fire, near Salmon Cove, on Sunday as they continued to battle the blaze that grew significantly larger throughout the day.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentPremier John Hogan said Sunday that he believed the fire had grown over 5,000 hectares by end of day, up from around 3,000 hectares that morning.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentHowever, the province says that the fire’s growth Sunday was significantly slower than it was on Friday.Article contentThe Kingston fire is now more than double the size of the Chance Harbour blaze and is now the largest of the 209 fires in the province this year.Article contentThe ground crews used heavy equipment to remove fuel for the fire and make the break larger, work that’s expected to continue over the next few days along the entire southern edge of the fire.Article content“Water bombers were focused along the northern edge of the fire and were able to mostly contain fire spread on the north leading into the early evening. The effectiveness of this suppression means the fire is not expected to reach as far north as was previously projected,” the provincial forestry department said in its 9:30 p.m. update Sunday.Article contentAlso on scene through the day were helicopters, including two from the Coast Guard, which aided in the fuel break construction as well as bucketing spot fires in and around homes, and to transport crews and firefighting foam to the fire.Article contentGround crews on the southern edge were joined Sunday by a 20-person crew from Ontario, bringing the ground crew numbers on the fire up to 50. Also on scene were local fire departments that were concentrating on structure protection.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentAdditional homes were destroyed in Adam’s Cove, Kingston, and Western Bay, but heavy smoke and difficult conditions made estimating the number of structures and exact properties difficult.Article contentArticle contentThe communities of Perry’s Cove and Salmon Cove have not been impacted yet.Article contentWildland firefighters from the Canadian Air Force are scheduled to arrive today to assist with suppression efforts. Article contentThe province also announced Sunday that a high-capacity helicopter will arrive today from Manitoba to aid the firefighting efforts. The province is contracting the service at a cost of $1.1 million for a week and the helicopter will be able to carry up to 1,000 gallons of water at a time.
DEVELOPING: Fire break work continues to battle growing NL wildfire in Kingston Aug. 11
