Officials say Halifax wildfire that forced evacuations is being held

National Observer

6 days ago

A wildfire on the western outskirts of Halifax that had prompted evacuations is now being held, Nova Scotia officials say.
But the update, posted at 9:15 p.m. Wednesday, said firefighters would remain overnight at the scene of the fire near Susies Lake, which is about 10 kilometres west of downtown Halifax.
The Halifax Regional Municipality said the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources estimated that the blaze remained around 15 hectares in size.
The Susies Lake fire erupted on Tuesday afternoon close to businesses and homes in the Bayers Lake area and prompted the evacuation of three businesses in the Bayers Lake business park.
It also forced a hardware store and restaurant to close and an outpatient clinic in the Susies Lake area was also shut.
The latest update said the mandatory evacuations of all businesses in the plaza on the west side of Chain Lake Drive remained in place.
Earlier Wednesday, Scott Tingley with the Natural Resources Department told reporters that the blaze was caused by human activity and an open fire pit was found at the scene of the fire.
"There was nobody in the area when crews arrived on the scene, that makes it impossible to hold the person or people responsible to account," Tingley said at a news briefing. "That's frustrating to everyone."
Open fires are banned across Nova Scotia and violations come with a $25,000 fine. The province has also banned hiking, fishing and using vehicles in the woods, as well as any camping outside of designated camp sites. Anyone caught breaking the rules will face the same $25,000 punishment.
Twelve people have been fined since last week, Premier Tim Houston told reporters.
"It's certainly my hope that every single one of those is fully prosecuted and collected. It's just too serious of a situation right now," Houston said.
Tingley said firefighters in the province had responded to 17 reports of wildfires in the past day.
Firefighters were able to suppress and extinguish "a number of them quite easily" which allowed them to focus resources on the larger fires that require more attention, Tingley said.
"Why are we getting these fires? It's dry, and unfortunately there's activities out there that are happening that shouldn't be," he said.
Houston said there's been no loss of life or of structures thanks to the efforts of Nova Scotia's firefighters.
"The main reason we haven't had a catastrophe yet is our firefighters. They're stretched very, very thin right now … they've done an amazing job," he said.
The premier stressed that the "province is a tinder box" and urged Nova Scotians to take the wildfire restrictions seriously.
"I get that people want to go for a hike or want to go for walk in the woods with their dog. But how would you like to be stuck in the woods while there's a fire burning around you?"
Houston added that there's no significant rain in the forecast, and that as a result it's likely going to be "a long next few weeks."