The Current - Allegations of arson as wildfires rage across eastern Canada

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

Wildfires are burning across Newfoundland and Labrador, prompting the provincial government to significantly increase fines and prison time for people who violate a fire ban. We speak to Scott Chandler, who lost his home in Conception Bay North, and ask Premier John Hogan about investigations into allegations of arson — and the latest on the firefighting effort. Plus, we hear from Janet Barlow of Hike Nova Scotia about the province’s sweeping ban on activities in wooded areas and the impact on outdoor recreation.

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Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. The message from much of the East Coast, stay out of the woods. The risk of wildfires is just too high. The new Brunswick government has banned access to all crown land, and in Nova Scotia, the province has banned all travel and activities in wooded areas, thanks to delicate dry conditions. No fishing, hiking, driving ATVs, or camping, except in official campgrounds.

Here's Premier Tim Houston. As a society, we must do everything possible to protect each other, to protect our communities, to protect property, and, of course, to protect lives. We'll hear more about that ban in a moment. But first to Newfoundland and Labrador, where there have been evacuation orders upon evacuation orders this summer because of wildfires,

many of which remain out of control. Scott Chandler is from Small Point Adams Cove, Blackhead Broadcove, on the Aval Peninsula, about a two-hour drive from St. John's. He evacuated a week ago, and he found out a few days later, his house was destroyed. Good morning, Scott. Morning. How are you today? I'm doing well. How are you doing? I'm coping. I'm going second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. And when did you realize that things were as bad as they were and you had to leave? So last Monday I was out doing some just yard work and I could see off in the horizon.

I could see some black smoke. My wife who has 10 years being a firefighter in Alberta said to me, Scott, we need to go in and start gathering up some stuff. We've had 12 wildfires since May 7th. So I can say I didn't really take it seriously. I thought, eh, you know what, I'll pack a bag and we'll be gone for no more than 24 hours. Unfortunately, I was absolutely wrong. And when did you learn that your home had been lost? Tuesday evening, I was told that my neighbor's garage was on fire, and that's when I went,

oh, okay, I think our home is next. And Wednesday morning, we were told that our structures on our property were lost. how did you react i mean what did you think um numb angry upset hurt like honestly a floodgate of emotions just kind of washed over me um as soon as we got to the evacuation center um my wife and i were just thrown into the fray okay good you're here you can help us organize this and you can do that and blah blah blah and we've been going non-stop. We've been doing 12 to 16-hour days. So that's helping.

We're both officers in the Canadian Armed Forces, so we're used to high-stress situations, and we believe in community. So it was just kind of a normal transition for us to go from evacuee to helping out. Tell me what that's like. What is it like at that evacuation center? Who are you meeting?

Who are you talking to? We're talking to literally a hodgepodge of everyone in the community, elders, youth, people that lost their homes. It's just such a great sense of community. We're all here together. We're helping out with each other. We're grieving together. It's actually quite a very interesting sight to behold. I wish you could see it firsthand, just the strength that we're drawing off each other. It really, it really is something. mentioned you feel hurt. Why do you feel that way? I'm hurt because we've had 12 wildfires in our little region since May 7th. This isn't, you know, a lightning strike that just caused a

wildfire and you go, okay, you know, act of God, or someone flicked a cigarette butt on the trail or a quad backfiring. Twelve. This is an arsonist. This is someone out deliberately setting fires and they're causing fear in the community, and that hurts. It hurts that there's someone out there that's enjoying the pleasure of people being displaced and whatnot. I know the RCMP has yet to confirm that they know it's arson, but the superintendent chief, Pamela Robinson, says it is, in fact, investigating. Are you hopeful? Have you heard any updates on how that investigation is going or what is what are people saying about this um we've had actually a few people in our community that actually have gone to the rcmp filed report so a summary investigation can happen

so that's i guess you could say a positive that's coming out of this people are scared you know how it is you don't want to go and i hate to use that rat out your neighbor term but you know what i mean we're a community we're a small close-knit community and i think that's where people we're getting fear from, and that's where my heart came from. You have an eight-year-old child. How are you explaining all of this to him that you've lost your home, that perhaps there's an arsonist

behind this? Well, we haven't told him about the arsonist, but we told him, we were open and transparent with them. We told him, hey, bud, you know, our house is gone. He processed it well. Wednesday night, we were leaving the evacuation

Center because we're staying with some relatives in Carbonear, and a member from the community said, how are you doing, Bud? And he says, I don't have a bed to sleep. And I went, that broke my heart. And a couple days ago, now he's doing the mental inventory.

Well, I lost this toy. You know, my Nintendo Switch and this and that. It's like, it's okay, bud. We can replace those things, you know? So he's looking at it definitely. through the eyes of an eight-year-old and as a parent it just shatters my heart it really does and you've got a full day at the evacuation center helping out again yeah we're me and my my wife are here usually

12 to 16 hour every day helping out making sure people are okay um getting meds getting mental health whatever we just direct them where we can or just have a quick conversation you know saying that we got each other we're you know we'll rebuild and you know you know we'll rebuild and you know you You know, we're all in this together. Scott Chandler, thank you for spending this time with us this morning. Thank you for this opportunity. I really appreciate this. That is Scott Chandler from Small Point Adams Cove, Blackhead Broadcove, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Joining me now is the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. John Hogan, good morning to you. Good morning to you as well. What do you think when you hear Scott Chandler's story? Yeah, I listen to it. I've talked to Scott a couple of times. I've been out to that part of the province three or four times over the last week. And to be honest with you, Scott and his wife, they might have been the first people that I saw

when we went to a Presolvik school on the first day of the evacuation. So that was before, obviously, he'd lost his house. And so when I hear Scott talk about all the emotions that he's gone through, I think it represents what everybody in the community, and the communities throughout that part of the province have gone through, and what people in Newfoundland and Labrador are going through as well as they worry about their fellow neighbors. But when Scott talks about, you know, he lost his house and his heartaches for his little boy,

his eight-year-old boy, but then he goes on to say he's putting in 16-hour days as a volunteer. And that's originally why he showed up there is to volunteer and to help. And he hasn't stopped despite his loss and his family's loss. So while I, you know, I hear him talk, I hear the sadness that people are feeling and the frustration, the anger, the worry, the stress. But then I think about Scott representing all Newfoundlanders and Labadorians and the volunteers and the firefighters who are coming together in a very difficult time. And I think of Scott noted, he thought, you know, maybe this would be 24 hours and now we're

approaching a week with potentially not very, you know, there won't be an end in sight definitely for a few days. We don't have rain in the forecast. It continues to be hot. The fires continue to be active. He just really sums up what it means to be a Newfoundlander and Labradorian today. Guess who just bundled their home and auto with Desjardin insurance? Well, look at you, all grown up and saving money.

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You know, you heard Scott there, too, talk definitively that he believes this is the work of an arsonist in the Avalon Peninsula. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, so it was one of the first things I heard when I went out on day one to that part of the province, that people were very much concerned that someone had set the fires. So whether that was done intentionally or negligently or recklessly, it was very much on top of people's minds. So we immediately took steps to make sure that the RC&P were involved, make sure that. make sure that they were doing necessary investigations and they've assured us that they are. They have open investigations, open files on the various fires throughout those communities.

And then we continue to hear, you know, other things that people, as Scott said, didn't want to come forward. So we then provided the opportunity to get crime stoppers involved. They have since offered a reward of $5,000 for any tips that can lead to, you know, the conclusion of investigation. When I talked to Rod Pike from Crime Stoppers, he mentioned that. this was certainly extraordinary circumstances. Normally a reward would be $2,000, but they certainly saw, given the seriousness of this situation, they increased it to $5,000. And, you know, the most important part of that is that any tip is completely anonymous. So despite the fact that people do have valid fears and don't want to come forward, those tips will be anonymous. And, you know,

the RC&P need help too. As Mr. Pike explained, any and every piece of information is vital. You add it all up when you're doing the investigation. So any tip, any information that someone might have could be very important to the RCMP. You did declare a regional state of emergency over the weekend for the Bay DeVerd Peninsula. What is the latest on the wildfires in your province? And do you have enough resources to battle this? So we'll get an update in a little bit later this morning as the crews go out and the planes fly to get a visual view of what happened overnight.

The one in Scott's area, we're calling the Kingston fire, grew significantly over the last 24 to 48 hours. but yesterday's growth was slower than Saturday, so we do take every little bit of good news we can and have a little bit of hope there. The fire suppression is working on the north side of that fire, so that is good news. Crews have been working very hard, of course, on the ground to remove fuel, they're putting firebreaks in

through the use of heavy equipment, and we'll certainly look forward to getting a forecast on that today. We do have 20 ground crew from Ontario yesterday that were working very hard on structure protection in that part of the province, on that fire. And we do have assets from Quebec and New Brunswick as well, and we have further assets coming. So just important to realize, of course, you know, it is a small area. You know, there are a limited number of assets that will be able to fly in that airspace at any

given time. But safe to say we're continuing to look at all options to make sure that we do everything we can and the firefighters are doing everything they can to suppress, contain, and eventually put out all the fires in the province. And when you do talk about assets, of course, we had a fire in the area of Holyrood. now being categorized as being held. So that's very good news. An evacuation order there has been removed so people have been able to return home. We have a fire, we're calling the Martin Lake fire, which is still active in the central part of Newfoundland. And we had several lightning strikes in Labrador over the last couple of days as well, which created fires, some of which

have been put out, but others which we continue to monitor. You know, on Friday, your government increased drastically increased fines and prison time for people who violate a province-wide fire ban. We're talking fines ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 as well as up to a year in prison. Why was that necessary? Well, I think when we heard what people in Scott's part of the problems were saying was that, you know, there was a disregard for the fact that firebans might be in place. You know, it could be carelessness or negligence or just not following the rules. And fines are certainly a way to make sure people are aware of the rules and that there be serious consequences if they're violated and breached. And we felt it was very

important to communicate that to the public because people hadn't necessarily been following the rules. And we've had reports through communities. We've had, for example, St. John's regional fire department has had to respond to bonfires. So it is a deterrence. And in the event that someone is fined, you know, it will be a punishment for violating these very serious, serious rules. All of this is going on. You managed to attend the Canada Games this weekend. Your province is hosting that. How are the fires impacting the games? and are there contingency plans in case the fires worsen? Yeah, so as of now, I mean, we had day one of sporting events yesterday

over the course of the weekend. We had some ceremonies and Hall of Fame ceremony and opening ceremonies was just fantastic. We continue to monitor, of course, the health and safety of the athletes and the air quality. That does change on a day-to-day basis. Even outside my house, someday it's hazy and some days it isn't. So it's continually going to change over the next week or so or two weeks while the Canada Games is here. But everybody, you know, the athletes and the volunteers have the firefighters and the volunteers and the evacuees in their minds. But they've worked very hard to get to this point in their lives and their athletic careers.

And, you know, it's important for them to enjoy the moment. And I think it's important for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to recognize that the Canada Games can go ahead. The firefighters are continuing to do the extremely dangerous and hard work. But hopefully people can just take a moment and enjoy some of the games, enjoy some of the happiness, and try and put a smile on their faces. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians continue to deal with the very unprecedented and serious situation. Premier, thank you for making time for us this morning. Thank you very much. Stay safe, everybody.

John Hogan is the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. He joined us from St. John's. Nova Scotia's sweeping ban against all travel and activities in the woods has caused some confusion and upheaval. Anyone caught violating the ban faces a $25,000 fine. Jana Barlow is the executive director of the non-profit hike Nova Scotia. We've reached her in Halifax. Good morning. Good morning.

Jana, what do you think of the ban? Is it worthwhile? Oh, it's heartbreaking. I'd love to be out there in the woods, but it's necessary. It's so dry here, and there's no relief in sight. And, you know, I'm just concerned about people's homes and livelihoods and also just our wild green space. I don't want that to go up and smoke, and, you know, hikers are nature lovers, and we don't want to, we don't want to see that impacted. You know, initially, I think people were a bit confused on where they could go and couldn't go. Do you understand now where exactly you can and cannot go and do people generally understand? Yeah, I mean, the messaging when it first came out last Tuesday at first was a little bit, you know, ambiguous, but more clarity came in the following days. So that's good.

I think people have a pretty good idea now, and we're doing our best on our end to try to get the message out there. But, yeah, I guess it was probably most frustrating and most confusing probably for some of the tourism operators, the folks who deal in the outdoor recreation tourism product, which is one of our biggest tourism products. There was a lot of frustration in those first few days. And where can't you go then? well basically any any wooded trail any wooded area more or less so if it's got trees on it then then more or less the the message is to stay away yeah and what are you hearing from tour guides and these outdoor operators about what this means for their living yeah i spoke with one on

friday and they were reeling those first few days were pretty confusing um and in one day one one operator was answering like 300 emails from people just for his business to, you know, asking what's going on, you know, I'm contacting you to cancel my entire trip. And apparently there are ways you can get permits to do some activities, but that wasn't entirely clear at the very beginning. So they're working it out. But, you know, either way, a lot of these businesses are, their bottom line is going to be impacted. This month, it's a top, it is the prime time for tourism in Nova Scotia. And a lot of people are going to be hurting from it, that's for sure.

And interesting that the ban is actually in place until October 15th, unless there's enough rain. So how are people reacting to the length of this ban? Well, you know, we actually two years ago had had a similar band come into effect. And luckily, last year, it was only about, a week or so until we got enough rain and the ban could be lifted. Right now, it's just waiting and praying and hoping for rain. Thursday is the first rain that is forecast, and it's only 60% chance of showers, which isn't even going to put a dent in putting the edge off of all of this.

So, yeah, I think we're, we may be looking at a long haul here. Are you worried that this sort of thing becomes more familiar in that? quite frequently we see these kinds of bands and what that means for operators and just people generally in your area. Yeah, there is the thought. You know, is this the new normal? I really hope not because it's going to affect a lot of people in terms of not only economics, but also mental health and physical activity and getting out there, right? A lot of people need to go to the woods and nature just for their own mental health, me included and tons of folks that I know. And so, yeah, it does beg the question, what is the future going to look like

with this kind of drought? Is it going to be a regular thing? Okay. Janet Barlow, we appreciate your time. Thank you for this. No problem. Thanks. Janet Barlow is the executive director of the nonprofit hike, Nova Scotia. We reached her in Halifax. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.