Fire risk forces St. John's to postpone Canada Day fireworks show

Fire risk forces St. John's to postpone Canada Day fireworks show

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City have also cancelled events

The City of St. John's says its Canada Day fireworks show has been postponed due to the risk of fire.

The provincial fire weather index places the city in the yellow — or high — risk category. That means fireworks, including personal fireworks, can't be used. The rest of the Avalon Peninsula was also in the high risk zone as of Wednesday afternoon.

A concert taking place at Quidi Vidi at 8 p.m. will proceed as scheduled, the city said in a statement around 2 p.m. NT.

Rainfall helping crews fight wildfires near Labrador City

State of emergency remains in place as crews continue fighting wildfire near Labrador City

The city said it would provide an update on when the fireworks are going ahead by 2 p.m. Thursday.

The move follows cancellation of other fireworks events in some parts of the province over active wildfires and high-risk weather conditions. As of Wednesday afternoon there are 28 active wildfires in the province — nearly all in Labrador.

Labrador City, which is under a state of emergency due to several fires burning in the area in recent days, has cancelled its Canada Day events. In a social media post, the town said a new date for fireworks would be announced in the coming weeks.

The Town of Happy Valley Goose Bay announced Tuesday that its fireworks display was cancelled. It will instead take place during HV-GB Day on Sept. 26.

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