Provincial authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador have issued precautionary evacuation alerts for Paradise, Conception Bay South, Galway and Southlands after a fast-moving wildfire erupted near Paddy’s Pond, about 15 kilometres south of downtown St. John’s. Roughly 20,000 residents have been told to prepare 72-hour emergency kits as the blaze, estimated at two square kilometres, advances toward the outskirts of the province’s largest city. Four water-bombing aircraft were dispatched on Tuesday, and officials said the flames have already singed one electricity transmission line, although no power outages have been reported. The Paddy’s Pond blaze is one of five fires currently classified as out of control in the province; the largest, near Kingston on Conception Bay’s northwest shore, has expanded to 52 square kilometres and previously displaced about 3,000 people. Wildfire activity is also straining other parts of Atlantic Canada. In New Brunswick, an out-of-control fire near Moncton’s Irishtown community has been reduced to 45 hectares but remains a threat, with residents on standby for evacuation orders amid heat warnings and poor air quality. Halifax and parts of Vancouver Island have reported new fires as the region grapples with prolonged drought conditions that Environment Canada says have left some areas with barely a third of their normal rainfall since spring.