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
Lack of detention space could force CBSA to release detainees, internal memo warns
The Canada Border Security Agency is scrambling to find space to hold high-risk detainees that are set to be transferred from provincial jails in June.
BREAKING American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
BREAKING Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, 'Ramblin' Man,' has died. He was 80.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
Police make arrests in grandparent scam that defrauded victims out of $739K
Ontario Provincial Police say they have 'disrupted' an organized crime group that allegedly used an emergency grandparent scam to defraud seniors across Canada out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
What does it mean to be 'house poor' and how can you avoid it?
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Calgary man charged with manslaughter in death of toddler
Calgary police say Winston Campbell, 45, has been charged in the death of a two-year-old girl in 2022.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.