Nova Scotia is so dry Premier Tim Houston is describing the province as a “tinderbox” as a wrath of wildfires take shape.
Houston’s comments Wednesday come as firefighters continue to battle a blaze in the wooded area of Susies Lake, near the Bayers Lake Business Park in Halifax.
“We’ve been dodging bullets. Think about it: 17 fires just in the last 24 hours, the province is a tinderbox. It’s so easy for a fire to start right now. We haven’t had any rain since June,” he told reporters at a news conference.
“We’re all on edge, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the firefighters, so far there’s not been any loss of life or any loss of structure.”
Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, officials said the estimated size of the Susies Lake wildfire has reduced to about 15 hectares from its original size of about 25 to 30 hectares.
“In normal times, a fire crew might have somewhere in the vicinity of 20 to 25 minutes to get to a fire in the woods and try to get it controlled before it runs away. Under current conditions, it’s more like five minutes or less,” Houston said.
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“Some of these things can just run away immediately, so obviously we’re in a really tricky situation here in the province.”
Evacuations were ordered for several businesses in the Bayers Lake Business Park on Tuesday afternoon. The area runs adjacent to a wooded area and was feeling the impact of the wildfire. However, local residents in homes were not told to evacuate.
Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with with the Natural Resources Department, told reporters that an open fire pit was found at the scene of the fire near Susies Lake.
“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.
“That’s frustrating to everyone.”
A special air quality statement remains in place for the Halifax area as of Wednesday morning. It warns that smoke from nearby wildfires is reducing local air quality.
Since announcing last week punishment for those trespassing in now shuttered provincial parks, Houston said 12 fines have been issued.
“It’s certainly my hope that every single one of those is fully prosecuted and collected,” he said.
“An out-of-control forest fire is a terrifying thing, so treat this situation with the seriousness that it deserves. We are, certainly as as a government.”
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