Residents of Belleisle area grateful to volunteers who battled out-of-control wildfire

Around the same time a giant wildfire started near Saint Andrews on May 28, one began in the woods in the hills above Belleisle Bay, located roughly west of Hampton, north of Saint John.

In both fires, a local fire department of volunteers answered the call. Both departments dealt with similar conditions — a fire in the woods being driven by very strong winds toward people's homes. 

When the call first came in around 1 p.m., Belleisle Valley Fire Department Capt. Mike Sherwood couldn't even see the smoke from across Belleisle Bay at his family's camp. 

Within hours, however, heavy smoke was driven into the area by very strong winds, said Sherwood, forcing some people to leave that area on the opposite side of the bay.

Closer to the fire, homeowners were convinced it was right on top of them because of the way the smoke blew close to the ground and far out ahead of the fire. 

"The smoke was being carried so far, so fast, that people thought the fire was in their backyard, when in fact it was still roughly three-quarters of a kilometre from many homes along the bay, up on top of the hill," said Sherwood.

The close call was enough for residents to want to express their gratitude for the volunteers who answer the calls in the community. 

In a post on the community's social media page, Sherwood said they've received so many inquiries about how to make donations to the department that they've set up a new email address for direct deposits to the department. 

He also said he's hoping to use those funds to buy a drone for the fire department since "more and more the DNR [Department of Natural Resources] is relying on local departments to fight the fires."

It was his personal drone that he used, and it sustained some damage because of the heat. He said he'd like to buy a drone equipped with thermal imaging, which means it wouldn't have to fly as close to identify hot spots. 

He said the information provided by the drone was invaluable in directing firefighters and resources in the fire zone. 

Sherwood said he was given clearance and approval by the Department of Natural Resources and Energy to use the drone to create a plan of attack because they weren't able to acquire any water bombers — otherwise, it's illegal to fly a drone in the area of a forest or wildfire. 

With the help of the drone, Sherwood said they were "able to direct the crews who were lugging 500 feet of hose through the woods from the truck that was actually pumping the water."

The drone was able to direct those on the ground to the easiest route through the woods.