Having a fire this long weekend? A forest fire officer says campers need to be cautious

Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial forest fire duty officer says it's important to be cautious over the Victoria Day weekend, given the already high number of reported wildfires so far this year.

The Newfoundland and Labrador active wildfire dashboard has reported 65 wildfires already this season. 

Jeff Motty said numbers have skyrocketed because of dry conditions. Just seven wildfires had been reported at the same time last year.

A recent large-scale fire in the area of Adam's Cove, which saw homes destroyed, a state of emergency called and residents evacuated for days, points to the importance of keeping fires under control. 

Fire crews also fought a wildfire in the Whitbourne area earlier on Friday.

"Fire chiefs and fire departments, they're all kind of concerned going into this weekend. Because we're going to see some nicer weather going into this weekend. And, you know, with nicer weather comes the opportunity to have campfires," Motty told CBC News on Friday.

Motty said before any fire is started, it's important to first check local regulations, weather conditions and the risk of a wildfire in the area.

The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture currently lists most of the province as having zero to low risk of a fire, but there are some exceptions.

Parts of central and southwestern Newfoundland, south of Flat Bay, are under a moderate risk. 

Terra Nova National Park was under a high risk on Friday.

"You want to have your tools alongside you to be able to extinguish that campfire when you're done with it. So having a campfire, you want to make sure it's on a prepared site, [making sure] it's not too windy," Motty said.

"You also want to make sure that you always keep that fire attended. And once you're done for the evening, you want to make sure you thoroughly soak that fire until you know it's out for sure."

Motty said it's also important to keep any equipment you might use over the weekend — like an ATV or chainsaw — in clean, working order. He said they can be among the leading causes for human-caused wildfires.

"That piece of dirt that gets up on the muffler, that can catch on fire and fall off behind you. You could be driving a long distance and not even know that you've created a wildfire behind you," he said.