Nova Scotia’s Long Lake wildfire hits two-week mark, still burning out of control

The Long Lake wildfire in Nova Scotia is still out of control after two weeks.

Wednesday marks two weeks since a wildfire began burning out of control in the West Dalhousie area of Nova Scotia.

The Long Lake fire, which started on Aug. 13, doubled in size on Sunday and forced the evacuation of more residents.

The fire was estimated at 8,247 hectares as of 4:30 p.m.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says crews continue to focus on the east side of Paradise Lake and are working around the entire perimeter.

Current air resources include nine helicopters and six planes, plus bird dogs. Ground resources include 36 DNR crews, 62 from Ontario and 59 local firefighters, plus 60 pieces of heavy machinery.

Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection, said the rain earlier this week helped with the fight against the wildfire.

“We’ll take any rain we can get,” he said. “This is a big fire. We’re going to be there for a while.”

Dustin Enslow, deputy warden and councillor for Annapolis County District 3, says cloud cover, cooler temperatures and high humidity helped firefighting efforts on Monday and Tuesday.

“We’re definitely not out of the woods yet. Now, today we have better visibility, so we’re expecting to see some aircraft in there to help support the crews on the ground,” he told CTV Morning Live’s Crystal Garrett.

“We also have a lot of crews in the actual evacuation area doing safety assessments and looking at the damage as well as clearing roads, because as you can imagine the speed at which this fire went through on Sunday caused a lot of downed trees and a lot of damage to the forest so we’re still going through that situation.

“We’re supporting DNR with every effort they’re doing to fight this fire and have boots on the ground and we’re definitely thankful for every resource that we’re getting.”

The province confirmed Monday a number of homes were damaged by the fire as it intensified and jumped dozer guards over the weekend.

Enslow says approximately 500 addresses have been evacuated so far, affecting about 1,200 people.

The county is still encouraging evacuees to register with the Canadian Red Cross.

“It’s very important for people to do so, that way we can contact you for whatever reason. Hopefully it’s always with good news of we’re looking at returning, but it’s also if we’re in a situation of loss, that way we know how to contact you,” said Enslow.

“It’s also important to be registered to get the services that were announced by the premier earlier in the week with the financial assistance.”

Enslow says there has been a feeling of defeat from crews since the fire advanced on Sunday.

“I know one of the reports I got just on the structure protection, it was about seven million gallons of water was used to save structures, so that’s a lot of trucks, that’s a lot of people,” he said.

“But now, over the past two days, we’re starting to see that morale boost back up and the fact that we have more people coming to help with the fire definitely helps their morale and the fact that the community is extremely supportive of the firefighters definitely helps with morale and keeping spirits up.”

Aside from the Red Cross, Enslow also encourages people to call 1-833-806-1515 for public information related to the wildfire and evacuation supports.

“We’re hoping that as we go on things are going to turn and we can look at possible re-entry situations and we’re just trying to look at that positive point of trying to move forward,” he said.

Air quality statements

An air quality warning remains in effect in Annapolis County, where the smoke is significantly reducing air quality.

Air quality statements also remain in effect for the following areas:

• Halifax Metro and Halifax County West
• Hants County
• Kings County
• Lunenburg County

“Smoke from a wildfire near the Long Lake area of Annapolis county will reduce air quality downwind. Smoke conditions may vary locally as wind and fire behaviour changes. Air quality is expected to improve this afternoon but could diminish again Thursday morning,” the statement reads.

Residents are advised to keep their doors and windows closed and limit their time outside.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page