
Officials say Nova Scotia's largest wildfire remains out of control
The Long Lake wildfire in the western part of the province is composed of a series of fires that still cover roughly 32 square kilometres of land, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Dave Steeves with the Department of Natural Resources told a news briefing that firefighting crews remain focused on the northern side of the blaze that's threatening some homes and structures near West Dalhousie.
Andrew Mitton, with Nova Scotia's Department of Emergency Management, says there are 61 structures in the vicinity that are outfitted with sprinklers as a form of fire protection.
Steeves says crews are concerned about the 'serious drying trend' they're seeing as the existing fire eliminates humidity in the area.
They will also be looking out for the strong winds that are forecast to accompany Hurricane Erin in the coming days.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2025.
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Global News
28 minutes ago
- Global News
Firefighters continue to battle wildfires in Nova Scotia
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Officials say firefighters in Nova Scotia remain focused on tackling the northern side of the Long Lake wildfire in the Annapolis Valley, which is closest to homes. Andrew Mitton, with Nova Scotia's Department of Emergency Management, said during a news briefing on Wednesday that 61 structures in the vicinity have been outfitted with sprinklers as a form of fire protection. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The blaze near Long Lake is the largest in the province, and as of Wednesday afternoon, it measured roughly 32 square kilometres in size. Scott Tingley, with the Department of Natural Resources, said staff were closely watching the weather forecast to see how winds from Hurricane Erin would impact firefighting efforts. Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick are also continuing to battle active wildfires. Newfoundland's 107-square-kilometre wildfire near Kingston also remained out of control. Story continues below advertisement In New Brunswick, five wildfires remained out of control as of Wednesday evening.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Firefighters continue to battle wildfires in Nova Scotia
A water skimmer from the Northwest Territories flies over the evacuation area where firefighters are battling the Long Lake wildfire in Nova Scotia's Annapolis County, outside the community of West Dalhousie, N.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese WEST DALHOUSIE — Officials say firefighters in Nova Scotia remain focused on tackling the northern side of the Long Lake wildfire in the Annapolis Valley, which is closest to homes. Andrew Mitton, with Nova Scotia's Department of Emergency Management, said during a news briefing on Wednesday that 61 structures in the vicinity have been outfitted with sprinklers as a form of fire protection. ADVERTISEMENT The blaze near Long Lake is the largest in the province, and as of Wednesday afternoon, it measured roughly 32 square kilometres in size. Scott Tingley, with the Department of Natural Resources, said staff were closely watching the weather forecast to see how winds from Hurricane Erin would impact firefighting efforts. Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick are also continuing to battle active wildfires. Newfoundland's 107-square-kilometre wildfire near Kingston also remained out of control. In New Brunswick, five wildfires remained out of control as of Wednesday evening. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.


National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
Nova Scotia officials battling out-of-control wildfire — and monitoring hurricane
Scott Tingley with Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources says it's rare to be simultaneously monitoring a hurricane while fighting wildfires in the province. The Long Lake wildfire in the Annapolis Valley remains out of control, and is composed of a series of fires that cover roughly 32 square kilometres of land. Meanwhile Hurricane Erin, tracking northward between the Carolinas and Bermuda, is expected to bring strong winds to Nova Scotia by Friday into Saturday — but no rainfall. "I've been doing this for over 20 years and it's the first time I've encountered this," he told reporters about the double threat of a wildfire and a hurricane. "But we're used to getting rugged weather in this part of the country, so we've dealt with high winds." Firefighters in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley have managed to keep the largest fire in the province from growing any bigger for two consecutive days. Dave Steeves with the Department of Natural Resources told reporters Wednesday "there's a lot of good stuff going on" with fire suppression efforts. Twenty-two firefighters are in the region from Ontario, five are from P.E.I., 25 are volunteer firefighters from within Nova Scotia, and 95 members of the Department of Natural Resources are tackling the blaze. "And there's an extensive amount of heavy machinery out there, and everybody is working diligently to say the very least," Steeves said. Similarly to Tuesday, firefighters are focused on attacking the northern edge of the blaze that's nearest to houses and other structures in the West Dalhousie area, where about 100 homes were evacuated over the weekend. While the Long Lake wildfire continues to burn out of control, the province is now forced to keep its eye on Hurricane Erin as it tracks northward between the Carolinas and Bermuda. Tingley said, "Almost all of the energy is being put, right now, in and around the vicinity of the homes and particularly where the fire crossed the West Dalhousie Road. That's the top priority, where there's homes and infrastructure that could be threatened." Andrew Mitton, with Nova Scotia's Department of Emergency Management, said there are 61 structures in the vicinity that are outfitted with sprinklers as a form of fire protection. Steeves, meanwhile, said crews are concerned about the "serious drying trend" they're seeing as the existing fire eliminates humidity in the area, and they are looking out for the strong winds forecast to accompany Hurricane Erin. A report by Environment Canada on Wednesday said, "as the very broad circulation of Erin tracks well south of Nova Scotia, there will likely be some high altitude cloud cover and gusty northerly winds in the afternoon and evening especially near the Atlantic coast. No rainfall is expected." In Newfoundland, the 107-square kilometre wildfire near Kingston remained out of control as of Wednesday evening. In the morning the province issued an update saying the Paddy's Pond fire near St. John's was "being held." In New Brunswick, five wildfires remained out of control. — By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax.