As thousands of Nova Scotians return to their homes after a string of devastating wildfires forced them to flee last week, provincial and municipal officials today started offering them free well-water testing kits.
The testing is necessary because in areas where the fire moved through, the groundwater could be contaminated by residue from the fire, chemical fire retardants and fuel from ruptured tanks.
In Halifax, the city informed residents on Twitter that due to limited capacity for lab testing, no more testing kits were available for distribution today.
Meanwhile, the Barrington Lake wildfire is the only fire that remains out of control in Nova Scotia, but fire officials say it is not growing, thanks to heavy rain over the southwestern corner of the province — and more rain is in the forecast for Shelburne County.
As well, the Roseway Hospital in the town of Shelburne was expected to reopen today after it was evacuated last Wednesday.
Still, a section of the major highway that runs along the western section of Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast remains closed because of the fire.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.
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