Global Courant
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Officials in Canada’s Atlantic coast province of Nova Scotia said on Saturday that a wildfire that drove thousands of residents from their homes over the past week is now largely under control because of the rain.
David Steeves, a forestry technician with Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, said the fire in the Halifax area is about 85% under control, is on 9.5 square kilometers (about 4 square miles) and likely not will grow due to a combination of firefighting efforts and much-anticipated rain.
The news was also good across the county, where Prime Minister Tim Houston said the total number of active wildfires fell from 10 a.m. to five in the mid-afternoon.
“When you step outside, you see something beautiful: rain, and hopefully a lot,” he said during an afternoon briefing.
The only fire still out of control is one in Shelburne County in the southwestern corner of the county, which remains “scary,” Houston said.
The fire that broke out in the Halifax area on Sunday swept through a number of subdivisions, destroying about 200 buildings – including 151 homes – and forcing the evacuation of more than 16,000 people.
Meanwhile, at the provincial wildfire center in Shubenacadie, north of Halifax, about 20 Canadian Forces stood outside a lightly armored vehicle in the pouring rain.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Blanchette said the first contingent from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown had arrived in New Brunswick on a “fact finding mission” to see what military support was needed in the effort to fight the fires.
In Shelburne County, meanwhile, 6,700 people — about half the borough’s population — stayed out of their homes as the fire that forced their evacuation continued to spiral out of control.
The Barrington Lake wildfire, which began Saturday, reached 230 square kilometers (93 square miles) — the largest recorded wildfire in county history. It consumed at least 50 houses and cottages.
Dave Rockwood, a spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, said there was “cautious optimism” that there would be no further growth and that firefighters could use more direct tactics to contain it. Two other fires deemed uncontrollable as of Saturday morning were classified as “sustained,” he said, later in the day.
Houston confirmed that schools in Shelburne County would be closed Monday and Tuesday.
