Warm and dry weather is moving the forest fire index, with new restrictions in the Maritimes.
It hasn't been a notable year when it comes to forest fires, at least in New Brunswick.
“Nothing real major, but we did have one or two of significant size,” says N.B. Wildfire Prevention Officer Roger Collet.
While summer unofficially wraps up in a few weeks, the forest fire risk isn't over yet. The forest fire season in New Brunswick officially ends Oct. 31, and depending on the weather, the fall can be quite busy.
“We can still get some warm weather in the fall and we can get some wind and that will dry things up and we can come back into fire hazards for sure,” says Collet.
In Nova Scotia, forest fires earlier in the month required help from as far away as Quebec. Firefighters from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were also on the ground.
The largest of the fires in Nova Scotia burned for more than 11 days before being contained.
On Thursday, Nova Scotia's Natural Resources Minister estimated the cost of fighting those fires will come in between $3million and $3.5 million.
“The majority of that cost in an early analysis is the cost of the water bombers and our own helicopter fleet,” says Minister Lloyd Hines. “It was quite an aerial attack, but it proved to be effective. It is expensive to run those vehicles.”
Burning is only permitted between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in Nova Scotia and for the southern half of New Brunswick.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
