Maritimers preparing for wildfire season as fires rage in Western Canada

As wildfires burn in Western Canada, there are growing concerns about what Nova Scotia's wildfire season could bring.

Tricia Murray-D'Eon was one of the many people who lost her home when wildfires tore through Hammonds Plains, N.S., nearly one year ago.

"The notification we all received that we're back in wildfire season was definitely triggering for many people, and the fact that we're coming up on the day we had to flee the fire, essentially, is going to be a big day for us," said Murray-D'Eon.

While she pays close attention to conditions in Nova Scotia, she's also keeping an eye on the wildfires out west. More than 100 are burning across the country, with more than 30 out of control.

At this point, Nova Scotia has not sent any firefighters to help, but crews are preparing for what this province’s wildfire season could bring.

"Our training for our fire crew was started this spring," said Nova Scotia's Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton. "We had the review of last year's incidents. We're implementing some of those. Extra training. Extra equipment put into place.”

As of May 12, crews have responded to 41 wildfires in Nova Scotia. The province said they were all human-caused. The fine for violating the daily burn restrictions in Nova Scotia increased Thursday to $25,000.

By this point last year, the province said there had already been 138 wildfires.

Precipitation so far this spring has been average, though most of it fell in March.

"While we started spring quite wet, quite rainy, things lately have trended a little bit more towards the drier side," said CTV Chief Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell. "It doesn't take long, you know, you get a couple days of some windy, drier conditions to see a lot of that ground fuel drying up.”

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency is monitoring conditions and looking at risks.

"There are vegetation risks. There are certain things you can do around your home, such as mowing your grass or cleaning your gutters. Using fire resistant building materials if you're planning a renovation," said Halifax's Wildfire Mitigation program manager Kara McCurdy.

While Murray-D'eon is not yet back in her own home, she's ready for wildfire season just in case.

"I still have all important documents, things like that, kind of ready to go in case," she said. "One major thing that I have done that definitely tells me that I'm anxious about this is I no longer put my phone on 'do not disturb' at night when I got to bed." 

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.