'Many, many lives turned upside down' by wildfires: N.S. premier
Nova Scotia’s premier says the “historic” wildfires in the province have caused a “breath-taking amount of damage.”
“Weather has favoured the fires all week, not the firefighters. We’re hopeful this will soon change,” Premier Tim Houston said during a news conference Friday.
Province-wide there are 14 active wildfires, four of which are out of control, and the fires cover about 23,000 hectares of land as of Friday afternoon.
In Shelburne, more than 5,000 residents have been evacuated — representing half of the community’s population. During peak evacuations in the Halifax area, more than 16,000 were forced to leave their homes.
“This is historic,” Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, said, adding that the fire in Shelburne County is the largest recorded wildfire in the province’s history.
“Through all this despair, zero deaths, zero missing persons, zero serious injuries. This says a lot about the professionalism of our first responders leading the response,” the premier said.
“No lives lost, but an absolutely breath-taking amount of damage and many, many lives turned upside down.”
About 150 homes have been destroyed by fires in the Halifax Regional Municipality and officials in Shelburne estimate about 50 homes have been destroyed, though a fulsome assessment of damage in the area has not been completed.
The premier thanked New Brunswick, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario Friday for providing equipment and or firefighters to work alongside Nova Scotia’s many firefighting crews.
“It means so much. The national system of provinces helping provinces is working,” Houston said.
As well, the premier says more than 140 volunteer firefighters within Nova Scotia have signed up to join the frontlines and the province is working on the process of “mobilizing” this group to join the firefighting efforts in the coming days.
More international help is also on the way, with 60 firefighters from Costa Rica and 35 firefighters from New England set to arrive shortly, Houston said.
The premier said he’s also pleased to see the federal government is “starting to move” on providing support to the province.
The premier shared Wednesday an extensive list of requests for support to the federal government, that include military firefighting crew, a variety of equipment, helicopters to drop water, and 50 per cent cost-sharing for modular housing units for those who have lost their homes to the fire.
“We’ve lost a lot of homes, and we’re already in a housing crisis,” Houston said. “We know the issue is significant, we’ll work with our municipal partners and get through this.”
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.