CTV’s Bruce Frisko receives notice to evacuate neighbourhood while anchoring newscast
Thousands of Nova Scotians have been waiting and worrying about their homes and neighbourhoods since wildfires began burning in the province on Sunday forcing mandatory evacuations.
Among them is CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko, who found himself on both sides of this crisis.
His experience began Sunday afternoon while producing and anchoring CTV News at 6.
“We noticed fire after fire after fire and then we got word of fires breaking out in Tantallon, which was immediately cause for concern because I live there.”
Bruce said the newsroom was monitoring the situation closely and was amazed at how quickly it was spreading.
“Then they started announcing evacuations, so I phoned home and alerted my spouse just so she aware,” he said. “And then we started getting alerts about evacuations and entire neighbourhoods were being told to leave and they couldn’t go back.”
Bruce was on the air at about 6:10 p.m. when an emergency alert said Highland Park was among the latest list of neighbourhoods being evacuated.
“It was a very odd feeling, sitting up there reporting on your own evacuation, which I wound up having to do,” he said.
“After work, you know, we met up, immediately tried to book a hotel, which was very difficult. The phone lines – most of them we found were jammed. The online booking system wasn’t working.”
Fortunately, Bruce’s colleague Liz Rigney offered to let Bruce stay in her newly-renovated basement suite.
“We’re so incredibly grateful to Liz, for doing that for us,” Bruce said.
“As for our house, we’ve been sort of monitoring the piecemeal information that we can find from people who are there. As far as we know, there’s been no damage in that particular part of the neighbourhood yet.”
Bruce is one of the lucky ones -- the Tantallon-area fire has destroyed 150 homes.
“I think our thoughts really need to be with them right now,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
Why Kim Kardashian is being sued for 'knockoff' furniture
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
King Charles will attend Easter Sunday service at Windsor
Buckingham Palace officials say King Charles III and Queen Camilla will attend an Easter service at the chapel at Windsor Castle on Sunday.