New BrunswickA wildfire burning outside Moncton was reduced to 45 hectares as of Tuesday, but a nearby resident remains cautious, fearing that dry conditions and a potential change in wind could make fighting the fire more complicated.Fire in Maple Hills in its third day, but crews beat it back by 10 hectaresKatelin Belliveau · CBC News · Posted: Aug 12, 2025 4:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoFire crews managed to reduce the size of a wildfire outside Moncton but it remains out of control. (Department of Natural Resources)A wildfire outside Moncton has been burning for three days, but crews managed, as of Tuesday, to shrink the blaze by about 10 hectares.The fire in the rural municipality of Maple Hills covered 45 hectares by Tuesday morning, and crews kept it to that size throughout the afternoon.On Monday, the fire covered 54 hectares, according to the province’s fire dashboard.The scene is still one of two fires in the province considered to be out of control.Tammy Young and her husband, Omer Mallet, have lived on Weisner Road in Maple Hills for nearly 20 years. (Katelin Belliveau/CBC)Despite the progress, not all residents are breathing a sigh of relief, however.Tammy Young estimates the home she and her husband have lived in for about 20 years on Weisner Road is just shy of five kilometres away from the fire. Miramichi wildfire burns into 6th day, nearly tripling in size over 24 hours “It causes a lot of anxiety,” she said, standing in front of a small SUV packed with boxes of important documents and framed pictures of her sons.”You think about your home and everything there is still to lose. You just want them to get on it.”WATCH | Where firefighters rest after a day fighting Irishtown flames: Some anxious residents pack as Irishtown fire remains out of controlAs a wildfire near Maple Hills on the outskirts of Moncton burns for a third day, some nearby residents are feeling on edge.Young said she saw two water bombers pass directly over her house on Sunday, which is what first signaled to them that something was wrong.Ever since, she’s been ready to leave: she’s packed everything her dog, Cooper, might need, and she’s hand-picked what she considers to be irreplaceable from her home to bring.An aerial photo taken on Tuesday shows the wildfire burning near Irishtown outside Moncton. (Government of New Brunswick/Facebook)Young said she’s thankful for all that first responders are doing, but even the recent sound of helicopters dropping bags of water behind their home hasn’t made her want to unpack the car just yet.”We know that to be in control they need to get in front of it and they can’t go in front of it right now,” Young said. “It’s dry. There’s no water. There’s potentially … rain coming, but with rain comes wind.”As firefighters from other provinces arrive in the area to help, they’ll be able to rest in an arena in Moncton.Firefighters from out of province who are battling the Irishtown fire are staying at the Crossman Community Centre in Moncton. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)The Crossman Community Centre-Kay Arena is being reserved for firefighters arriving mostly from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia who, at the end of each day they’re on scene, can eat, drink and sleep inside.Thirty more firefighters arrived in New Brunswick Tuesday, according to an update from Department of Natural Resources. Twenty of them arrived from N.S., five more from P.E.I., and another five came from Maine.ABOUT THE AUTHORKatelin Belliveau is a CBC reporter based in Moncton.
Wildfire outside Moncton shrank Tuesday, but residents remain wary
