Paradise to remove Mercers Pond ‘fort’ over fire worries

By Tyler Waugh / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Those who frequent a long-standing structure in the woods by the shore of Mercers Pond are in for a big surprise, as the Town of Paradise is preparing to have the well-known hangout taken down.

Council voted unanimously at its July 14 meeting to remove the illegal cabin fort after numerous complaints from residents and a June 16 incident where municipal enforcement officials (MEOs) had to extinguish a fire at the site.

Municipal enforcement received a concern that a fire was being set on the site by youths and two MEOs visited the structure with fire extinguishers and dealt with smouldering school papers that had been burned.
“Somebody wasn’t pleased with their marks,” quipped councillor Sheldon Antle.

MEOs contacted St. John’s Regional Fire Department Station 8 in Paradise to advise fire officials of the situation and provided details about the location and the path to access the structure through the woods. Antle noted it’s a challenging location for fire responders with no civic address. Details were also provided to the RNC in the event of an emergency.

Antle said the Town has received a number of complaints from residents around Balsomwood Road about ongoing new construction activity to expand the illegal fort since the middle of June. The structure, he said, has apparently existed in different forms over the years on the shoreline of Mercers Pond. The understanding is that various groups of teens use the site from year to year, and fire risk is a grave and increasing concern for residents of the area.

Antle said some residents are familiar with the site themselves, have walked the path to get to the structure, and provided insight to the MEOs. It is accessed by a trail used by walkers and off-road vehicles and is estimated to be around 300-400 metres long.
According to the Town’s records, the site of the structure is adjacent to an issued Crown Land title of private undeveloped land, which remains in a natural, heavily treed condition. The structure is located outside the private property boundary in the Crown Land Reserve.
Sensitivity to fire hazard and safety is of particular concern in light of the wildfires of 2025, which resulted in some residents of Paradise being under evacuation alert because of a blaze that threatened homes in the Three Island Pond and Topsail Pond area, with some residents having to be evacuated, according to a report in the July 14 agenda.

Councillor Tommy Maher concurred.

“You know, the big thing here is fire risk for me, it’s not so much the kids hanging out in there,” said Maher, allowing most people have spent parts of their youth exploring the woods and building forts, but that the fire risk is too high.

“It’s just something we have to do, we’ve got to play the game now and get this removed fast as we can before something serious happens,” Maher said.

The Town has contacted the Eastern Crown Lands Office. Crown Lands officials confirmed there is no title issued for the site where the fort has been erected.

The Town posted a notice at the site on June 14 that the structure was being removed and, now that a formal decision has been made by council, another official removal notice will be put up as a courtesy, though it is not required.

Antle said crews will use the trail to move equipment in to remove the structure, and notice will be given to any property owners whose land will have to be crossed by the crews and equipment.