More planes, firefighters coming to fight Long Lake wildfire in West Dalhousie, N.S.

The Long Lake, N.S. wildfire is still out of control but so far no homes have been lost.

A wildfire in the West Dalhousie, N.S., area continues to burn out of control nearly one week after it began, but more help is on the way.

Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says the Long Lake wildfire is still estimated to be 3,210 hectares despite minimal growth south of Five Finger Lake.

“We’re still feeling a little bit of relief from that little bit of rain we had Sunday evening and then the conditions that followed, so that’s very nice,” said Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection for DNR during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

“But as the days go past that, that rain that we did receive is quickly drying off and going away, and the conditions are going to start to rise again to what we had last week. So we’re preparing for that and doing as much work as we can in the meantime.”

Scott Tingley, DNR’s manager of forest protection, says crews had a productive day Monday, thanks to rain, cooler temperatures and a favourable wind direction.

“They focused a lot of efforts on containing where the fire had crossed the West Dalhousie Road, so they put a lot of energy into trying to maintain and secure that northern part of the fire,” explained Tingley during Tuesday’s briefing.

The Long Lake fire is fairly close to some homes, a community centre and a couple communications tower, but none of those structures have been lost at this time. A few campers and trailers have been destroyed, however.

“Where there’s no rain in the forecast, it’s still going to take significant effort, suppression, to get it to being held or under-control status,” said Tingley.

“We’re making progress but we still have a ways to go.”

The following resources were on scene at Long Lake Tuesday evening:

• 93 DNR crews
• 22 Ontario firefighters
• 25 local firefighters
• four planes from the Northwest Territories
• one contracted helicopter

Annapolis Royal Volunteer Fire Chief Andrew Scranton says his crew members have been putting in long days and nights at Long Lake.

“They’re resilient and they’re up for the challenge every day,” he told CTV News Atlantic’s Callum Smith. “I would say they’re tired, but they won’t tell me that.”

DNR said there were four wildfires burning in Nova Scotia Tuesday, but only the Long Lake fire is out of control. The other three are considered under control.

Officials believe the Long Lake wildfire, which began burning last Wednesday, was caused by a lightning strike.

More resources coming

Rudderham said a group of Canadair CL-415s are coming from Manitoba on Tuesday and will deployed to the Long Lake fire on Wednesday.

Three helicopters from Saskatchewan are also expected to arrive in Nova Scotia on Tuesday, depending on the weather.

Three CL215T planes from Alberta that are on loan to New Brunswick helped with a quick strike on Tuesday afternoon.

Rudderham said Canadian Forces Base Greenwood is housing the planes and their crews.

In addition, 40 firefighters from across Canada are expected to land in Nova Scotia on Wednesday and Thursday, to help with efforts in West Dalhousie.

Keeping an eye on Hurricane Erin

Meanwhile, officials are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Erin, which was heading toward the eastern U.S. coast on Tuesday.

The storm is not expected to make landfall in Atlantic Canada, but it will likely bring strong winds to the region this weekend.

“We’re getting very good weather briefings and updates on the track of that storm and ... how it’s forecast to impact the fire area,” explained Rudderham.

“So crews are incorporating their control and containment strategies based on those forecasts and what they anticipate in terms of wind shifts this week.”

He said no structures in West Dalhousie are “immediately at risk” but noted that could change as the wind shifts and weather changes throughout the week.

Evacuation centre updates hours

While the Long Lake fire has grown over the past few days, the evacuation area has not expanded.

Dustin Enslow, deputy warden and councillor for Annapolis County District 3, says the evacuation notice, which was issued Thursday, is still in place for 107 homes, affecting about 215 people.

“As of right now, everyone has departed. It’s just a very difficult situation,” he told CTV Atlantic’s Brianne Foley.

“We’re well now past the 72-hour mark, which opens up another avenue of anxiety for the individuals because what we usually do is tell people to have their 72-hour kit prepared for any type of emergency.”

The Municipality of the County of Annapolis said Tuesday afternoon that 80 of the evacuated households and 146 people have registered with the Red Cross.

Enslow emphasized everyone who has been evacuated needs to register.

“There’s still quite a few people who have not registered. It’s just for us to be able to get updated information to you as well as providing any type of support possible,” he said.

The evacuation reception centre and shelter for the Long Lake wildfire evacuees was moved over the weekend to the Nova Scotia Community College Annapolis Valley Campus in Middleton.

Enslow said he is seeing a lot of people utilizing the daytime services, like meals.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been having a great working relationship with the Red Cross and Salvation Army, so they’ve been putting on three meals a day and we’ve been seeing great turnout for that,” he said.

“For the overnight shelter piece, we’ve only been seeing a few people utilize it ... so we’re looking at changing the hours to better support the individuals that need it.”

The centre will now operate daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Overnight accommodations will still be available 24/7.

The municipality says evacuees that need help after hours should call 1-800-222-9597 to be connected with the Red Cross.

Enslow added emotions in the area are “extremely high.”

“As you can imagine, the people that were evacuated, just the fact that they’re not in their normal place and they’re not doing their normal routine is stressful enough, so on top of this the worry about what’s going on with their house and their property, but overall the emotions are good it seems,” he said.

“(DNR) is taking the lead and dealing with the front-line stuff and the municipality is managing all the behind-the-scenes logistical stuff to support the residents of the municipality because at the end of the day it’s the residents of the county that are affected by this emergency and we’re going to be the ones that have to pick up the pieces and support the people moving forward.”

State of local emergency

The wildfire prompted the Municipality of the County of Annapolis to declare a state of local emergency on Saturday.

The municipal state of local emergency is in effect for a week, unless renewed or terminated sooner.

Residents are asked to follow all official instructions and directives from emergency officials. The declaration also prohibits the inflation of prices for essential goods and services.

Residents are being urged to monitor official updates from the Annapolis Regional Emergency Management Organization (REMO) and other official government sources or call 1-833-806-1515 for public information related to the wildfire and evacuation supports.

Air quality statement expands

An air quality statement remains in effect for Annapolis County due to the wildfire, which is reducing local air quality.

The statement also now includes Queens County.

People in the area are encouraged to keep their windows and doors closed.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Sean Mott

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