Fueling concern: Calls to remove charred trees from Halifax-area fire zone

With the fires long extinguished and the rebuilding process slowly starting, some residents from the Hammonds Plains fire zone say partially burned up trees should be disposed of because they pose a continued fire risk.

"Everybody would like to see it cleaned up," said long time resident Frank Smith, whose family has owned land in the area for generations.

"Everyone I talk to is in the same boat."

Normally lined by the deep green hues of summer, entering the fire zone on the Hammonds Plains Road is a bit like visiting a dead planet at the moment, with lengthy sections of charred timber and blackened earth.

Traffic tends to move slowly as motorists take in what they're seeing.

Smith, whose home was basically surrounded during the height of the fires, believes it was only spared because he and his son-in-law had cleaned-up a sizable-area in the yard that had been previously damaged.

"When Fiona went through, it knocked a whole lot of trees down. So, my son in law and I have been cleaning all this up for the last....ever since Fiona," said Smith.

 "You could say Fiona saved our home."

But Smith, a former volunteer firefighter for 20 years, is convinced there's still plenty of risk.

"And it's going to get worse once this dries out this summer, another year on it, and you've got the whole ground area is full of fallen trees that are drying out....and more fuel," he said.

The province disputes that.

In an email to CTV News, Department of Natural Resources and Renewables spokesperson Patricia Jreige said "the trees burnt during the wildfires don’t pose an additional fire risk, as the fuel in them has already been burnt."

"NRR develops reclamation plans for all fires on Crown land, including for the restoration of trails and roads. The department typically doesn’t have a role on municipal or private land. That role would fall to the municipality or property owner," the email said.

"On Crown land, we typically allow nature to take its course in burnt areas and let forests regrow naturally," said Jreige.

Up the road, at the Sipekne'katik Entertainment Centre, they're counting their lucky stars, too.

Completely surrounded by fire for a time, a vehicle even burned in the parking lot.

The band, too, had the foresight to cut some trees closer to the building in an effort to reduce fire risk and increase visibility on the road for the facility.

Remediation plans are already in the works.

"We're looking at reforesting some of the areas that have been burnt, and sooner than later, one of our aspirations is to look at it, get it cleaned-up - and what is it going to cost," said Stuart Knockwood, Sipekne'katik First Nation Director of Administration.

"I spoke last week with our Earth Keeper Guardian, and one of her areas of expertise is reforesting. So, looking at a plan and looking at how we're going to do that, and where and when we're going to do that."

Some small plants and trees have started poking through the blackened earth in some areas, but even the province concedes it could take many years to return to what it was.

"This can take decades, however, we often see quick initial regrowth with shade-intolerant species, like red poplars or ferns," said Jreige.

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