More than 100 homes have been evacuated as an out-of-control wildfire near West Dalhousie in Annapolis County continues to burn Friday.
The fire broke out Wednesday on the north side of Long Lake, about 20 kilometres east of Annapolis Royal, N.S. The provincial Department of Natural Resources has said a lightning strike caused the fire.
On Friday afternoon, the province said the fire is estimated at 406 hectares or about four square kilometres — up from 300 hectares around noon Thursday.
An evacuation order was expanded on Thursday evening and now applies to:
- The Dalhousie Road intersection to 484 Morse Rd.
- West Dalhousie Road from civic addresses 4530 to 6186.
- Thorn Road from civic addresses 2648 to 3408.
- Medicraft Lane with the civic addresses 122, 126 and 126 Unit 2.
In an interview with the CBC’s Information Morning Nova Scotia on Friday, Dustin Enslow, the deputy warden of the Municipality of the County of Annapolis, said 107 homes have been evacuated, affecting 215 people.
“Overall, the spirits are pretty high,” Enslow said of the evacuees. “They feel that we’re doing the best we can and we’re trying to support them the best we can.”
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Department of Natural Resources staff said over 40 DNR firefighters and over 20 volunteer firefighters are battling the Long Lake fire.
Jim Rudderham, the director of fleet and forest protection for DNR, said Nova Scotia requested fixed-wing water bombers Thursday night but they were unable to come due to thunderstorms in the area.
Another fire burning in the Upper Hoyt Lake/Lower Hoyt Lake area, just south of Long Lake, is estimated at one hectare and is now being held, which means it is not likely to move as long as conditions don’t change. Two DNR firefighters are on that scene.
Helicopter crash
Natural Resources said one of its helicopters crashed into Fivefinger Lake in Annapolis County late Friday evening.
In a news release, the department said the aircraft — which was helping with firefighting efforts — crashed in shallow water around 4:24 p.m. AT.
It said the pilot, who was the only person on the aircraft, was conscious and spoke with firefighters who quickly reached the aircraft. By 6 p.m., he was rescued from his aircraft and taken for medical assessment, the department said.
Shelter
The Annapolis Regional Emergency Management Organization announced Friday evening the West Dalhousie wildfire emergency reception and shelter has been relocated from the Bridgetown Fire Hall to the Nova Scotia Community College’s Annapolis Valley Campus at 295 Commercial St. in Middleton. It will be open 24 hours a day. Evacuees can register in person or online.
The Bridgetown Fire Hall location is now closed.
“Registration ensures we can account for everyone’s safety and determine if you require overnight accommodation. Your cooperation helps us coordinate resources and keep our community safe,” the group said in a social media post.
A fire at Durland Lake Brook — near the Annapolis County-Queens County border — is estimated to be 0.5 hectares and is also being held on Friday morning. Five DNR and 12 local firefighters are working on the ground there.
The Susies Lake wildfire near the Bayers Lake Business Park is now under control, according to a social media post from Natural Resources at 7:10 p.m. AT.
Natural Resources said 20 DNR and 15 Halifax Fire and Emergency firefighters are “working to extinguish” the wildfire, which is estimated to be 15 hectares.
No rain in Long Lake area
Parts of Annapolis County did get some rain on Thursday night, but David Steeves, DNR’s district technician of forest resources and public information officer for the Long Lake wildfire, said “there was absolutely nothing” when he got to the command post Friday morning and checked the rain gauge.
“We’re going to need an extended amount of rain over an extended amount of time to make any real difference,” Steeves said.
According to Environment Canada, no further rain is in the forecast in the area until Sunday night, when there is a 30 per cent chance of precipitation.
The national weather forecaster has issued an air quality statement for Annapolis County and parts of Halifax County, saying smoke from the wildfires is reducing air quality in the area, and that people who are more likely to be impacted by smoke — including pregnant people, infants and young children, people with chronic health conditions and people who work outdoors — should avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
Conditions at Long Lake fire
The thunderstorm on Thursday night could pose problems even in the coming days, Rudderham said, due to the extremely dry conditions.
“Lightning has a lot of power. It could drive into the ground and take some time to work its way back out again with fire,” he said. “It might take a while for it to pop up.”
Steeves said the cold front that passed through on Thursday night brought a change of relative humidity and wind direction, which has made it a bit easier for crews on the ground.
“We’re definitely not out of the woods,” he said. “We’ve just kind of been extended a small olive branch here to get some good work done. And that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to utilize the window that we have.”
Steeves said in addition to creating dozer guards, which use bulldozers to remove trees, shrubs and other fire fuels to help stop or slow a fire, crews are on the ground with fire hoses, shovels and fire axes, digging through moss mounds and rotten wood, looking for “that one possible spark that could cause a problem.”
“Sometimes you’re crawling around on your hands and knees, feeling the ground with your hands looking for areas of concern,” Steeves said.
Volunteers step up
Volunteers have come together to house and feed firefighters battling the Long Lake fire.
James Wallace, the owner of Sunset Tides Development who recently bought the old barracks at the former Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis in Cornwallis Park, says a fire chief asked him Thursday morning if he could accommodate some firefighters that night.
His own construction crews and volunteers from the community immediately began sprucing up the building, which hasn’t been used for a few years — cleaning the kitchen, laundering linens and tackling plumbing and carpentry issues.
“We’ve had a very busy 24 hours,” Wallace told CBC’s Maritime Noon. “Until about three o’clock, it was chaos.”
French toast was served this morning, and volunteers are on hand making spaghetti sauce for this evening. People have dropped off groceries and brought fresh baked goods, and Wallace and his assistant’s email and phone have been flooded with offers of help, he said.
Thirty-five firefighters stayed there Thursday night. Another 25 are expected to arrive from Ontario today and some Nova Scotia firefighters who had gone to New Brunswick to help battle fires there will be returning and staying at the former barracks on Saturday.
“These people are out trying to save homes. They’re trying to save forests. They’re trying to save animals,” Wallace said. “The least that we can do is give them somewhere comfortable to sleep and food in their bellies.… I think it’s a no-brainer.”
Nova Scotia generosity
In a social media post on Friday, the province asked people to stop donating food, clothing or other items to the communications centre at Long Lake.
The post says the centre can’t accept donations of food that isn’t pre-packaged due to health and safety concerns and there is little room to store anything else.
“Thank you, Nova Scotia,” the post says. “Your heart and Bluenoser spirit are never in short supply.”
