Forest fire near Sugarloaf Place under control

The St. John's Regional Fire Department have brought a fire off Sugarloaf Place, near East White Hills Road, under control.

Acting platoon Chief Scott Tilley said crews learned of the fire around 1:45 p.m. and discovered a large forest fire spanning a couple of hectares in progress when they arrived.

"It was quite a large fire and the heavy wind condition today made it pretty challenging for us," he said.

A lack of water supply made fighting the blaze difficult initially, said Tilley, but fire crews were eventually able to get water brought in and the fire under control.

As of 4:30 p.m., there was still some smoke coming from the forest.

"We're pretty confident we're getting ahead of this right now," said Tilley. "As soon as we get some of these hotspots put out the smoke should dissipate."

He said there's no indications of how the fire started and there have been no injuries or damage to nearby homes so far.

"It looks worse than it is right now. Some of the smoke's still in this area, so neighbours are quite concerned," said Tilley.

"But I've spoken to a lot of neighbours in the area and I've reassured them that we're getting ahead of this."

The RNC will be investigating the cause of the fire.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador