Firefighters work to protect homes in West Dalhousie, N.S., as they keep an eye on Hurricane Erin

Extra resources from across the country arrived in Nova Scotia to help fight the Long Lake wildfire.

Crews continue to focus their efforts and build dozer guards on the north side of Nova Scotia’s largest wildfire as they prepare for Hurricane Erin, which is expected to bring strong winds to the region starting Friday.

The Department of Natural Resources says it has been monitoring the storm all week and preparing for possible impacts.

“We are expecting wind shifts and wind increases as the storm passes,” explained Scott Tingley, DNR’s manager of forest protection, during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

“That’s a big focus of the crews on the firefight now is, we put a lot of energy and focus and most of the resources on securing and suppressing up along the north end of the fire, where it’s in and around the community of West Dalhousie.”

The Long Lake wildfire is still considered out of control but it hasn’t grown in size in a few days. The fire, which started on Aug. 13, is still estimated to be roughly 3,210 hectares.

Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection for DNR, said they aren’t ready to classify the wildfire as “being held” just yet, as things could change as Erin approaches.

“Obviously, with this weather system coming through we don’t know, so it’s still classed as out of control,” he explained. “We don’t know where the fire is going to go, so that’s why it’s not classed as being held yet.”

The Long Lake wildfire is close to a number of homes, a community hall, and a couple communications towers, but those structures have not been damaged.

DNR officials say crews are working hard to protect the homes, especially ahead of any potential wind shifts with Erin.

“They’ve been using heavy equipment to build a fire break or a fire guard around the perimeter on the north side, so that’s meant to remove fuel from out in front of the fire, and they’ve been suppressing that active perimeter, so that’s where the fixed-wing water bombers have been focusing, that’s where the helicopters will be focusing,” said Tingley.

“They’re focusing on just really trying to make that as cold as they can ahead of these wind shifts on the weekend, to mitigate as much as possible any potential spread that could result from the wind shifts.”

DNR says crews will pull back if conditions become dangerous.

“If it’s really dangerous, they know enough to get themselves out, and they will,” said Rudderham. “We don’t expect them to stay anywhere that’s unsafe for them. So, if they’re on the ground and they have a wind shift, they will remove themselves.”

Hurricane Erin is not expected to make landfall in Nova Scotia and is not expected to bring any significant weather to the area, other than strong winds and surf.

Extra resources arrive in Nova Scotia

There are two other wildfires burning in Nova Scotia Thursday, but they are both under control.

The following resources were working in the province Thursday:

• 22 firefighters from Ontario
• five from P.E.I.
• 52 DNR firefighters
• 44 local volunteer firefighters
• 43 DNR support staff
• 37 pieces of heavy equipment.

Rudderham said there are now two air tanker groups in the province, including one from the Northwest Territories, and group from Manitoba, which arrived on Wednesday.

Three helicopters from Saskatchewan also landed in Nova Scotia on Wednesday and more firefighters are still expected from Ontario.

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

Evacuation centre reinstates 24-hour operations

The evacuation centre at the NSCC Annapolis Valley campus in Middleton will operate on a 24-hour basis on Thursday and Friday.

“Operating the Reception Centre 24 hours over the next two days will give evacuees peace of mind and access to support during a time of uncertainty,” said Brian Orde with the Annapolis Regional Emergency Management Organization.

“By registering and using the available services, residents help us allocate resources where they are needed most and plan next steps effectively.”

The Municipality of the County of Annapolis says it will reassess the need for 24-hour operations based on the number of evacuees using the shelter and the evolving situation.

The evacuation order was issued last Thursday for 107 homes, affecting roughly 215 people.

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