More than one hundred homes have been evacuated as a wildfire in Annapolis County continues to burn Friday morning.
The fire broke out Wednesday on the north side of Long Lake near West Dalhousie, N.S., about 20 kilometres east of Annapolis Royal. The provincial Department of Natural Resources has said a lightning strike caused the fire.
According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System map, the Long Lake fire was estimated Thursday evening to be 486 hectares, or approaching five square kilometres — up from 300 hectares around noon Thursday.
An evacuation order was expanded on Thursday evening, and now applies to:
In an interview with the CBC’s Information Morning Nova Scotia on Friday, Dustin Enslow, the deputy warden of the Municipality of the County of Annapolis, said 107 homes have been evacuated, affecting 215 people.
“Overall, the spirits are pretty high,” Enslow said of the evacuees. “They feel that we’re doing the best we can and we’re trying to support them the best we can.”
An alert issued at 7:42 p.m. AT Thursday told evacuees to leave or risk injury or loss of life. Evacuees should check in at the Bridgetown Fire Hall at 31 Bay Rd., and can call 1-833-806-1515 for more information.
Enslow said a comfort station has been set up at the fire hall, where people can stay during the day to charge their phones and get a bite to eat.
A news release from the Municipality of the County of Annapolis Thursday urged people to heed the evacuation notice.
“Don’t stay behind to help or because you don’t think this will affect you,” the release said. “You are putting the lives of our brave first responders and firefighters at risk when you do this. Precious supplies need to go to our firefighting efforts and support personnel.”
Natural Resources said Thursday about 30 of its firefighters and 10 local firefighters were battling the Long Lake fire.
Another fire burning in the Hoyt Lake area, just south of Long Lake, was estimated at one hectare, the department said. Seven Natural Resources and 10 local firefighters were on scene with aircraft support.
Natural Resources said a fire at Durland Lake Brook — near the Annapolis County-Queens County border — is estimated to be 0.3 hectares. Six Natural Resources and 20 local firefighters are working on the ground and a Natural Resources helicopter is supporting from the air.
Enslow said there was sporadic rain across the county Thursday night, with some areas receiving a lot and others getting none. The Long Lake fire site had little rain, he said.
According to Environment Canada, no further rain is in the forecast in the area until Sunday night, when there is a 30 per cent chance of precipitation.
The national weather forecaster has issued an air quality statement for Annapolis County and parts of Halifax County, saying smoke from the wildfires is reducing air quality in the area, and that people who are more likely to be impacted by smoke — including pregnant people, infants and young children, people with chronic health conditions and people who work outdoors — should avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
