Wildfires: Penalties for violating fire bans soar up to $150,000 in Newfoundland

By Canadian Press on August 8, 2025.

ST. JOHN’S — As some of Newfoundland’s tinder-dry forests continued to burn out of control on Friday, the provincial government exponentially increased its fines for those caught lighting illegal fires.

A visibly angry Premier John Hogan said the fine for a first offence would rise from $75 to $50,000, with potential imprisonment of up to six months for those failing to pay the penalty.

“Despite the serious nature of what’s happening, we are continuing to see reports of people setting fires and, in some cases, setting fires intentionally,” Hogan told a news conference. “It’s very clear from the size of the (fine) increase … that we mean business.”

The fine for a second offence has jumped from $150 to $75,000. And a third violation will cost offenders a whopping $150,000, with up to one year in jail if not paid.

The premier said the province’s largest wildfire, which continued to burn out of control on the western shore of Conception Bay, had grown overnight to almost 28 square kilometres, keeping hundreds of people from their homes.

The province has ordered evacuations of eight small communities in eastern Newfoundland. Some homes and other structures have been damaged or destroyed, but the province has yet to release any figures.

And with so many displaced people looking for shelter, eastern Newfoundland is facing a shortage of accommodations.

The province issued a statement last night saying the Canadian Red Cross and Salvation Army are working diligently to help evacuees find a place to stay. But the government says accommodations are now severely limited on the Avalon Peninsula, where the largest wildfire is burning out of control.

With no rain in the forecast until next week, Hogan said Quebec’s Premier Francois Legault had agreed to send four water bombers and 60 firefighters to help fight the flames.

The increased fines in Newfoundland follow similar action taken in Nova Scotia, where wildfires in 2023 scorched 25,000 hectares of land, destroyed more than 200 homes and forced about 20,000 people from their homes. After the fires, the Nova Scotia government raised fines for burn ban violations to $25,000.

As of Aug. 6 of this year, Nova Scotia had already issued 10 tickets.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s fines also apply to a wide range of restrictions announced Tuesday, which include provincewide bans on hiking, camping, fishing and use of vehicles in the woods. The new rules will remain in effect until Oct. 15, or until weather conditions reduce the risk of more fires.

In New Brunswick, the provincial government has imposed restrictions on some forestry operations over the next four days.

Both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have provincewide burn bans into effect.

As of Friday, New Brunswick was dealing with five wildfires, with one small fire in the province’s northeast listed as being out of control.

The weather forecast was offering few signs of relief for much of the region, with hot, dry conditions expected to stretch well into next week.

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, the risk of fire remained extreme across Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula and much of mainland Nova Scotia.

The risk was also very high across P.E.I. and central Labrador. The rest of the region faces a high risk, except parts of southern and western Newfoundland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 8, 2025.

— By Michael Tutton in Halifax

The Canadian Press