Wildfires in Western Canada have Maritimers mindful of warm, dry conditions

Some Cape Bretoners are wary of possible wildfires as the Maritimes faces a dry week.

With intense wildfires still burning in Western Canada, a Cape Bretoner who experienced a similar disaster said on Tuesday that he knows first-hand what it feels like to be dealing with that kind of danger.

“For me, it was a life-changing experience,” said Rick Chezenko of Sydney, who lived through the Fort McMurray, Alta. wildfires in 2016. “It’s quite a terrifying endeavour.”

With a stretch of warm, dry weather this week here in the Maritimes, Chezenko said what’s happening in western Canada now is a reminder of how quickly these fires can spread.

“It has happened here before, and it could happen here again with the weather changing constantly,” Chezenko said.

Just last week, a wildfire in Framboise, N.S. in Richmond County burned up 15 hectares and destroyed a vacant trailer. It was contained within 24 hours.

Deputy fire chief, Craig MacNeil, was part of a crew that responded from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

He says this time of year it’s important for both fire officials - and the public - to be mindful of the conditions.

“It’s been worse in recent years, but I think it’s due to the hurricane [Fiona in 2022] and the amount of fuel that is laying around the floor of the forest right now,” MacNeil said.

Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection for Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources, said while most of the province is in a low-to-moderate forest fire risk right now - things can change quickly.

“We do expect that the risk will increase through the week,” Tingley said. “Even though we might have had significant rainfall, those hot, dry days can result in what we call the ‘fine fuels’ - the twigs, any dry grass that is out there, all the lighter things - they dry out very quickly.”

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said a haze of wildfire smoke from the Prairies moved in aloft of the Maritimes over the weekend.

He added that while the smoke is thin and high enough not to impact air quality here, more could arrive from the west Wednesday and Thursday.

Chezenko, meanwhile, still has vivid memories of having to escape the Fort McMurray fires and said people should take precautions and follow the rules.

“I’ve seen how fast these fires can move, and it’s crazy,” Chezenko said.

The European Union’s climate monitoring service said on Tuesday that smoke from the wildfires out west has reached some parts of northwestern Europe.

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