'We've lost it all': Halifax-area woman in limbo after losing her home to wildfire
Molly Deveau is finding comfort where she can after learning her home was destroyed in an ongoing wildfire northwest of Halifax.
“It’s a sad time, but we are OK,” Deveau said in a recent interview with CTV News.
Municipal officials said Tuesday the fire has destroyed more than 150 homes. The blaze started Sunday in Upper Tantallon and has since moved west toward Hammonds Plains.
More than 16,000 people have had to evacuate their homes because of the fire, which remains out of control.
Deveau and her 11-year-old son packed up and left their home Sunday after seeing plumes of thick smoke billowing behind her house.
She took one photo of her home as they left — prompted by the suspicion that it might not be there when she returns.
A day later, a volunteer firefighter sent Deveau a photo of where her house once stood. Little remains but charred scraps.
She is preparing herself for when she can go back.
“At that moment, it’s really going to be an ‘oh my gosh this is nothing. We’ve lost it all,’” she said.
It’s news more evacuees are getting.
At the comfort centre that been set up at Black Point and Area Community Centre, Diane Smith-Jardine looks at photos sent to her by a firefighter friend taken from a helicopter. They show the burned-out lot where her home once stood.
“I don’t know if I’ve processed it yet,” Smith-Jardine said. “No one's been hurt, that’s the main thing.”
A before and after image of Molly Deveau's home and the burned remnants of it following a wildfire. (Molly Deveau)
Deveau is leaning on the support of friends, family and strangers.
“People just want to help and it's very overwhelming, but so humbling,” she said. Deveau and her son are staying with relatives.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.