N.L. lifts evacuation order for Badger, while wildfire still burns nearby

The Newfoundland and Labrador government lifted the evacuation order for Badger on Friday afternoon, allowing residents to return home for the first time since fleeing a wildfire on Wednesday.

Premier John Hogan made the announcement while talking to reporters Wednesday afternoon.

He said the fire near the town is still burning out of control, but the mayor says he is optimistic that efforts to battle the blaze are having a positive impact.

The fire started Tuesday and prompted an evacuation order by the province, forcing hundreds of people to flee the area to nearby Grand Falls-Windsor.

"[We're] feeling a lot better today than yesterday, and yesterday was a lot better than the day before. Fire crews have done an amazing job," Mayor Dennis Butt told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning on Friday morning.

"The fire's still active, it's still critical and the state of emergency as well as the evacuation order is still in effect," he said.

As of Friday morning, the provincial fire hazard maps lists the area as low risk of fire — a downgrade over the course of the week where the area had been ranked as extreme risk of fire.

In a statement to CBC News, government spokesperson Janice Goudie said the fire is approximately 300 to 400 metres from the community and had burned 1,119 hectares. It also has not jumped the Exploit's River.

She said the plan on Friday is to asses the conditions, deploy ground crews to key areas and  utilize aerial assets as required.

"It was certainly a very scary situation a couple of days ago," said Hogan earlier Friday. "Right now we're still monitoring the situation."

Hogan said weather conditions have been improving and more rain is expected in the forecast.

At the moment, the risk is low that the fire will jump the Exploits River.

"But as we know, things can change very fast," said Hogan.

While an evacuation order was issued on Wednesday, some people decided to stay in the community.