Halifax Fire extends open-air burning ban into Saturday as dry conditions persist

People in Halifax may be tempted to explore all of the beautiful wilderness Nova Scotia has to offer within municipal limits, especially during the short-lived summer months.

But current conditions mean a harmless campfire could lead to an out-of-control blaze. So, there is an open-air burning ban across the municipality that has been extended into at least Saturday.

“Based on the conditions that we’ve seen, we made a recommendation to the fire chief to move HRM into a complete no burn,” said Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Deputy Chief Roy Hollett.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Based on the conditions that we've seen, we made a recommendation to the fire chief to move HRM into a complete no burn," said Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Deputy Chief Roy Hollett.

Halifax Fire has responded to several brush fires since Thursday.

WATCH: Brush fire near Kearney Lake sends firefighter to hospital

1:50 Brush fire near Kearney Lake sends firefighter to hospital

Hollett says luck was on their side in many of those fires.

“And there was one up in the Bedford ravines and again very fortunate that crews were able to get there quick enough and as well, DNR brought in the helicopter and dropped a number of drops in that fire.”

There are a number of provincial and private campgrounds within the municipality. According to Hollett, a municipal fire ban doesn’t apply to those sites.

“We don’t have the authority to impose the ban on provincial parks. That is the province’s responsibility,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We don't have the authority to impose the ban on provincial parks. That is the province's responsibility," he said.

“And there are eight private campgrounds within the Halifax Regional Municipality and the campground, to be recognized by the province, meets certain requirements. So, if they’re under the province as a recognized private campground then our ban does not apply to the private campgrounds.”

During the first week of June, several homes in the Cole Harbour area had to be evacuated due to a nearby forest fire that crews struggled to control.

READ MORE: Crews battle large forest fire near Salt Marsh Trail in Cole Harbour, N.S.

“We haven’t got the results back from DNR but we know it was an area of a campsite and we know that there were no lightning strikes and 95 per cent of fires in this province are related back to people,” Hollett said.