'It was our dream home': Mother of four loses house in Tantallon wildfire
Amanda Dowding spent Thursday afternoon filling an empty home in Head of Saint Margarets Bay, N.S., with donated household items.
“She just wants everything here so we can figure out what she has and what items we have collected,” said Dowding.
Everything will go to assist Renee Hynes and her four children, who have lost everything in the wild fires.
Hynes lived in Tantallon home for eight years.
“It was our dream home,” said Hynes.
On Sunday, with the fires raging out of control, her family was forced to make a quick escape.
“Literally two of my children left with no shoes on their feet,” said Hynes.
Later in the week, Hynes was allowed to go back to pick up medication.
But when she arrived, she said out loud, “I don’t see our house for the trees.”
Fire had destroyed everything. Her family home was gone.
“There were just no words,” said Hynes.
The Hynes family is now on the receiving end of an outpouring of community kindness.
Friends are allowing her to use an empty house.
Beds, clothing, TVs, food, and all essential items are being dropped off on a daily basis.
“It is all adding up to make like a huge impact on people like my family,” said Hynes.
At the Emergency Evacuation Centre in Halifax, Ancel Langille from the Red Cross sees people every day who are isolated, living in fear, wondering when and if they'll be able to go home.
“Sleeping on a cot is not like sleeping in your own bed with your own surroundings,” said Langille. “People are getting really tired as well.”
As Hynes adapts to the new realities of her life, she has growing anxiety that these fires could spread further.
“I was behind a car, and the driver just chucked out his cigarette butt, which was still going,” said Hynes. “And it was on the side of the road and into the grass.”
She was horrified, and is encouraging people to be careful and to obey the burning ban so others won’t experience the same level of loss that her family has suffered.
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.