Shelburne County wildfire still out-of-control, grows to 19,000 hectares
An out-of-control wildfire in Nova Scotia’s Shelburne County has grown to 19,000 hectares.
It occupied about 10,300 hectares Tuesday morning.
Dave Rockwood, with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR), said his crew was stationed near Barrington Lake, about roughly seven kilometres north of the community of Barrington.
A thermal scan early Tuesday morning showed the fire grew slightly overnight, Rockwood said, adding weather is not helping.
“We’ve had to pull our crews from areas of concern,” said Rockwood in an interview with CTV News. “We’ve been relying heavily on our aircraft to do the work.”
Crews are working to protect structures and keep the fire away from “critical infrastructure,” Rockwood said.
About 2,000 residents have be told to evacuate their homes.
Rockwood says he wants evacuees to know, “We’re working as hard as we can to get them home.”
A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for all communities from Port Clyde along Highway 309 to the intersection of Oak Park Road and Highway 3 in Barrington West, according to the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office.
A shift in wind direction pushed smoke towards the town of Shelburne. Air quality issues forced residents of a seniors home to be moved our and taken to Acadia University.
Steven Ryer, from Clyde River, about 20 kilometres southwest of Shelburne, says he isn’t sure if his home is still standing. He says information is hard to come by.
“Nobody knows anything,” Ryer told CTV News. “I’ve had elderly people from our community calling me looking to me for answers and I don’t know what to tell them. I’ve contacted our local MLA and they don’t really know what to tell us.”
This yellow helicopter has been contracted by the province to help with the fire. (Jonathan MacInnis/CTV Atlantic)
Premier Tim Houston said he understands the frustration but all efforts are focused on putting fires out and saving as many homes as possible.
Fifty DNRR firefighters, including an incident management team, are on site Tuesday as well as several dozen volunteer firefighters.
Two water bombers from Newfoundland and Labrador were in the air along with two helicopters from DNRR and two that were privately contracted.
Smoke from a wildfire in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia, is pictured on May 29, 2023. (@NS_DNRR/Twitter)
When asked if Nova Scotia needs its own fleet of bombers, Houston said, “We have the helicopters who can drop. We have access to them, so we’ll look at doing what we can to support the firefighters in this province.”
Nova Scotia has seen 183 wildfires in 2023.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our provincial home page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca