'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
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.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
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.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
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.
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.