'Perfect conditions to start a fire': N.S. residents urged to follow burn restrictions

As the heat and windy conditions continue, Nova Scotia’s Wildfire Prevention team is urging people to follow burn bans or restrictions.

As of Wednesday afternoon, campfires and brush burning is restricted on most of mainland Nova Scotia and is only allowed from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m.

“Certainly all that rain we had is gone. We’re going to look at dry conditions again into this next weekend. And we really need residents to follow those burn restrictions,” said Kara McCurdy, who’s running the provincial wildfire centre this week.

Forest fires are raging in several hot spots—from Europe to Newfoundland, McCurdy said.

McCurdy knows in the summertime, fighting fires isn’t just a battle against the elements but can also be a battle for resources.

“If Newfoundland gets busy or New Brunswick gets busy they might not be able to help us out in our own fire efforts, so we’ve really got to be on guard,” she said.

“If you see that map go red, the province is super, super crispy and we have to be really vigilant,” McCurdy said.

A small cigarette butt could become a big problem.

“If their cigarette butts go under their deck, or they go in the grass or whatever and these are the perfect conditions to start a fire,” said Matt Covey, Halifax Regional Municipality’s Fire Prevention Division Chief said.

Barbeques can cause grease fires. If the barbeque is too close to your house or on your deck and it gets out of control, it could climb up onto your house.

“Or earlier in the year we had one fall over and they were using it in a grassy area and it just immediately started a grass fire,” Covey said.

Betty Roach has a summer camp set up at Woodhaven RV Park in Hammonds Plains. She knows that hot and windy conditions mean being careful around the campfire.

“We always keep water. We have a hose there in case,” she said, adding she never goes to bed without making sure it’s out.

When there’s a burn ban in place, she relies on her propane firepit instead. But even without a ban, she’s extra careful.

“And we don’t make a big, big fire so there’s not too much flame. Especially when it’s hot like this,” she said.

McCurdy points out fire prevention and mitigation require a whole community to take responsibility.

“It’s our businesses, it's our communities, it’s our residents, it’s even folks that are coming in recreationally,” she said.

“We look at hurricanes and earthquakes and all the other natural disasters. And you take all those mitigation efforts to protect your home from those things and you should certainly do the same with wildfires.”