New BrunswickThe New Brunswick government has asked all New Brunswickers to stay out of the woods. Premier Susan Holt, Minister of Natural Resources John Herron and Minister of Justice Rob McKee on behalf of Public Safety took part in Saturday afternoon’s announcement. Roger Collet, a wildfire prevention officer, was also present.Province says a fire spanning approximately 240 hectares near Miramichi is out of controlRhythm Rathi · CBC News · Posted: Aug 09, 2025 1:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoNew Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is shown in a photo from a July 17 news conference. (CBC News)The New Brunswick government has asked all New Brunswickers to stay out of the woods.Premier Susan Holt, Minister of Natural Resources John Herron and Minister of Justice Rob McKee on behalf of Public Safety took part in Saturday afternoon’s announcement. Roger Collet, a wildfire prevention officer, was also present.”Come out of the woods, stay out of the woods until it’s safe for everyone,” said Holt.The order applies for all forested Crown land, but private landowners are requested to follow the same rules to keep everyone safe, said the government.A wildfire which broke out earlier in the week on Oldfield Road, about 16 kilometres north of Miramichi, has grown to approximately 240 hectares, said Minister of Natural Resources John Herron.Herron called the fire “beyond control.”All other fires across the province are considered under control, he said.Herron said the province is experiencing an extraordinary drying trend due to less precipitation. The weather conditions are not expected to change until next weekend or later.As of Friday midnight, the DNR put a ban on forestry operations such as harvesting, forwarding, skidding, scarification, chipping and all pre-commercial thinning and cleaning on all forested Crown and private lands across the province.The ban on forestry operations will be in effect until midnight Aug. 12, the release said.Trucking, road construction and maintenance, vegetation management and tree planting are still allowed to continue, said the department. The entire province including provincial parks remain under a burn ban.”Over the next several days, the province is expected to remain under extreme fire weather conditions, with high winds, high temperature, and low humidity,” said New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Nick Brown said in an email on Saturday morning. “It is a very dangerous situation with the state of fuels [ignitable materials in the forests].”Two water bomber airplanes from Quebec are assisting with the ongoing extinguishing operation near Miramichi, he said. Fires that started on Friday in St. Paul and near Harvey are under control,” Brown said.Highway 8 near Miramichi between Route 450 and Oldfield Road is currently closed, according to the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. Russellville Road and McHardy Road are also closed with diversions in place. ABOUT THE AUTHORRhythm Rathi is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick in Moncton. He was born and raised in India, and attended journalism school in Ontario. Send your story tips to rhythm.rathi@cbc.ca
Government asks New Brunswickers to stay out of the woods across province
