‘Welcome home’: Lake George, N.S., wildfire evacuees begin to return Thursday

Hundreds of Nova Scotians are returning home following the Lake George, N.S., wildfire.

Evacuees from the Lake George, N.S., wildfire began to return home in phases on Thursday as crews continue to fight the weeks-long blaze.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said the 288-hectare fire in Kings County was officially held as of Wednesday evening.

“While crews continue working to get the fire under control, there is low risk homes and other structures in the area,” DNR said in a social media post.

The fire prompted an evacuation order on Sept. 29, forcing 353 properties to be evacuated.

“Fire crews did an amazing job because I did not expect to be back anytime soon,” said evacuee Joyce Smith.

So far, no structures have been lost.

“I can’t thank them (firefighters) enough for keeping all of our households safe and getting us back home as soon as possible,” said evacuee Kathryn Jordan.

Available resources to fight the fire Thursday include:

• 39 B.C. firefighters
• 34 DNR firefighters
• eight local firefighters
• four NWT planes
• five contracted helicopters
• 30 pieces of heavy equipment

Phased return

Evacuees will return to their homes through a phased approach on Thursday. Barricades will remain up as only residents — and not the public — can re-enter the area.

Residents will need to provide identification proving their civic address at checkpoints for re-entry.

The phased approach will go as follows:

• from 10 a.m. to noon, all North River Road and Aylesford Lake residents can return at the North River Road checkpoint before Old Mill Lane
• from noon to 2 p.m. all residents on Lake George and 3847 to 4955 Aylesford Rd. can return at the North River Road checkpoint
• from noon to 2 p.m. all residents of 5789 to 6128 Aylesford Rd. can return at the Fox Mountain campground checkpoint

“I am grateful to hear that all families can return to their homes, I can only imagine the relief this brings to the community,” said Kim Masland, minister of Emergency Management, in a news release from the province.

“We thank all the organizations and crews responding to this incident. I know they have put in tremendous efforts and dedicated hard work to fight this fire and ensure the safety of residents and properties.”

James Zadow was one of the returning residents on Thursday. He said he couch surfed and rented an Airbnb in New Ross for a few days as he waited to go back home.

“It’s been disheartening because of not knowing what was going on,” he said. “It’s a little scary that way. All our stuff is here, we only get to leave with this little car full of stuff.”

Janice Balser, bylaw enforcement officer with the Municipality of the County of Kings, said it was “wonderful” to be letting people back to their homes.

“My son was evacuated during this as well, so for myself it’s a really great and rewarding feeling to tell each one, ‘Welcome home,’” Balser said.

Residents are asked to drive with caution and be prepared to evacuate the area if the fire changes.

Financial support

On Wednesday, the province launched a financial support program for wildfire evacuees, offering a maximum of $3,000 per adult and $1,750 per minor.

People who had to leave secondary homes, like camps and cottages, are not eligible for the program.

Evacuation centre closed

The Kings REMO Regional Emergency Coordination Centre will de-activate as of 7 p.m. on Thursday.

The Kings County “Public Hotline” will continue to be monitored Monday to Friday during 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The hotline can be reached at 902-690-6112.

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis

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