HALIFAX -- Crews continued to battle a wildfire in southwestern Nova Scotia on Friday afternoon.
Firefighters contained one smaller fire in West Pubnico on Thursday evening, but firefighters are still battling the wildfire in Argyle which is approximately 15 hectares in size.
Janine Muise, the Emergency Measures Coordinator for the Municipality of Argyle, said variable wind conditions have made managing the situation tricky.
Either Highway 103 or Trunk 3, the "old highway" has been shut down based on the way the wind is gusting.
As of Friday afternoon, “emergency Officials are stating that Route 3 in Argyle is closed due to heavy smoke and poor visibility."
Muise said that anyone living between civic # 4040 through to civic # 4417 who may have respiratory issues should leave the area to avoid the thick, heavy smoke from the forest fire.
If any persons in this area require assistance, they are urged to call 902-648-2314 (EMO).
Muise said this is not an evacuation order, but rather a safety notice for individuals living in this area.
The West Pubnico Fire Hall has opened as a reception center for those who have left their homes, Muise said.
Officials said the few homes in the area are not at risk.
A spokesman for the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry said Friday afternoon the fire is estimated to be 15 hectares in size.
"The public is asked to avoid the area if possible. Cause has been determined as human activity," Brian Taylor said in an e-mail. Taylor also added that the West Pubnico fire that was extinguished Thursday evening was caused by someone who failed to properly extinguis a campfire.
Nineteen Lands and Forestry workers and a helicopter, as well as a volunteer fire department, are on scene.
Air tankers dropped water on the wildfire Thursday evening, before returning to Fredericton. The air tankers returned to the area Friday to complete a drop.
Taylor also provided an update on a few other active fires around Nova Scotia.
Five firefighters from Lands and Forestry and several fire departments are on scene but struggling to contain a 1.5-hectare fire on Hirtle Road in Middlewood, Lunenburg County that was started by "human activity."
Another Lunenburg County fire – this one near Caribou Lake – is 90 per cent contained, Taylor said. The local Fire Department plus two Lands and Forestry staff are working on this fire, which was caused by a lightning strike.
There was a new fire near Saturday Lake, Lunenburg County but he didn't have many details.
A burn ban is in place for all of mainland Nova Scotia.
Three other fires have been completely contained, Taylor said.
They include one on Red Pine Road near Lake Rossignol. This 3.5 hectare fire was caused by a lightning strike and 13 Lands and Forestry staff, four Parks Canada staff, and seven volunteer firefighters were fighting it with the help of three trucks, a helicopter, and an excavator.
Lightning ignited another fire on Thorne Road in West Dalhousie. Local Lands and Forestry staff and five volunteer firefighters with apparatus are fighting that two-hectare fire.
Lastly, about a dozen firefighters are working on a 1.5-hectare fire on Conquerall Mills Road in Lunenburg County after someone failed to properly extinguish a campfire.
Nova Scotia has an average of 225 wildfires each season.
With files from The Canadian Press.
