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All wildfires in Nova Scotia deemed under control: Department of Lands and Forestry

NS Lands and Forestry/Twitter

Nova Scotia’s Department of Lands and Forestry says all the wildfires that the province has been faced with over the past 24 hours are now deemed under control.

Wildfires have been reported in the areas of Frankville in Antigonish County, Springfield in Kings County and Argyle in Yarmouth County.

READ MORE: Crews dealing with multiple out-of-control wildfires in Nova Scotia

The province says no identified structures are at risk at this time and there have been no evacuations.

“These three fires of note today are all in remote areas with no homes nearby,” said Jim Rudderham, the province’s acting manager of Forest Protection Services.

It’s currently unclear what started the fires.

Antigonish County wildfire

Monday evening, the province said the fire in Antigonish County was 200 hectares in size, but during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon Rudderham said it is actually 148 hectares.

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“When these fires start … they give a rough estimate,” Jim Rudderham said. “They’re usually pretty good at it, so that’s why we always say approximately until they can actually get on the ground and GPS it correctly.”

There are currently 22 lands and forestry personnel responding to the fire in Antigonish County and 31 volunteer firefighters. A department helicopter was on the scene for much of the day but has since been released from duty.

Land and forestry says the fire is approximately 75 per cent contained as of 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Rudderham says the weather conditions Monday evening played a significant factor in the fire’s spread.

“The fire is less active and (crews) can get a lot of good work done, which they did (Tuesday) morning,” he said. “It’s still rough terrain, it’s still hard to fight a fire, but they did make some very good headway.”

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The fire resulted in a power outage impacting 958 Nova Scotia Power customers in the area Monday evening, but the outage has since be resolved.

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Kings County wildfire

The province said wildfire crews on the ground and in the air are also working with multiple volunteer fire departments in responding to a fire near Alton Road in the Springfield area of Kings County.

This wildfire is still estimated to be about 120 hectares and is 100 per cent contained.

The fire in Springfield is about 120 hectares in size and is considered out of control. Department of Lands and Forestry

Runnderham says there are no municipal firefighters attending that situation, but 25 land and forestry personnel and one helicopter are at the scene.

Lands and forestry staff remain on site attending to hot spots.

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READ MORE: Porters Lake residents back in their homes after being forced out by weekend forest fire

Argyle wildfire

In the southern end of the province in Argyle, Department of Lands and Forestry personnel are back on the scene of a wildfire estimated to be about 30 to 50 hectares in size.

That fire is considered under control.

Rudderham says staff felt the fire was under control Monday evening and is only accessible by air.

“This morning in Yarmouth we have a lot of fog and the helicopter cannot get off the ground,” he said. “We do have 10 staff that are ready to go if conditions change … but we feel pretty good about that fire right now.”

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Burn ban in effect

The province announced Tuesday that a burn ban is once again in effect in Nova Scotia, including brush and backyard fires.

“It’s extremely important for the public to keep updated on the latest information, stay away from these areas and reduce the risk of further fires by adhering to provincial and municipal fire restrictions,” said Iain Rankin, Minister of Lands and Forestry, in a statement.

The restrictions are in effect until at least 8 a.m. Wednesday.

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