HALIFAX — As an unprecedented string of wildfires in Nova Scotia continued to burn out of control for a fourth day, fire officials were hoping for a break in the dry, windy weather.
But that probably won’t happen until Friday night at the earliest, according to the latest forecast.
And while municipal officials had talks Tuesday about allowing some of the 16,000 people evacuated from their Halifax-area residences to return home, deputy fire Chief David Meldrum made it clear today that wasn’t about to happen.
He says the fire northwest of the port city’s downtown could flare up again because of the weather.
Wind gusts today from the southwest were expected to reach 25 kilometres per hour, and the temperature was forecast to rise to about 25 C, with the humidity remaining very low at around 20 per cent.
Meldrum says that under those conditions, the fire could quickly grow and spread, which is why the 100-square-kilometre evacuation zone will remain in place.
The deputy chief says 200 homes and structures have been either damaged or destroyed within that zone since the fire started in the Upper Tantallon area on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a much larger uncontained fire in southwestern Nova Scotia has forced 2,000 people to leave their homes since the fire started on the weekend in Shelburne County.
As of today, the fire northwest of Barrington, N.S., has grown to almost 200 square kilometres, making it one of largest wildfires ever recorded in the province.
As well, a third out-of-control fire is burning near East Pubnico in southwestern Nova Scotia, though it is tiny by comparison at only one square kilometre but growing.
No deaths or injuries have been reported as a result of the fires.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2023.
The Canadian Press
