Wildland fire in subdivision near Sydney, N.S., under control

A wildland fire behind a subdivision near Sydney, N.S., is under control.

Around 6 p.m. Saturday, Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) said crews were responding to a fire in the area of the Kytes Hill subdivision. It said the fire was near heavy transmission power lines.

About 30 minutes later, CBRM said there was a “deliberate power outage” to support the firefighting efforts on the ground and in the air. Approximately 3,000 customers were impacted.

“The location of the fire threatened key power lines and was located approximately two kilometres from homes,” said a CBRM news release Saturday.

A Department of Natural Resources (DNR) firefighting helicopter was brought in to assist. Nova Scotia Power was also on site and restored power around 7 p.m.

While crews were fighting the fire, the public was told to stay away from access roads to the area.

The municipality said the fire was brought under control around 9 p.m. “with CBRM based wildland equipment and DNR helicopter support.”

As of 2 p.m. Sunday, CBRM said ground resources were still working on the active fire site.

“Three CBRM fire stations are on scene with Department of Natural Resources and a fourth is on site to relieve the morning’s crew,” said a news release Sunday.

CBRM said the fire has not grown since Saturday and is currently 2.1 hectares in size. The DNR helicopter is on standby.

Fire danger risk

According to Natural Resources Canada’s Fire Weather Maps, much of Cape Breton is at a high to extreme fire danger risk. The index illustrates how easy it is to ignite vegetation, how difficult a fire may be to control, and how much damage a fire may do.

Additionally, all of Nova Scotia was under a burn ban as of Saturday. Burn restrictions are updated daily at 2 p.m.

The municipality may see some temporary relief Sunday into Monday with showers in the forecast but it’s expected to be warm and sunny at least until Friday.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page