News release

Update on Wildfires, June 4 (morning)

Natural Resources and Renewables

The Tantallon and Hammonds Plains wildfires are now under control, which means they are contained and not expected to move, but still not out. The total number of active wildfires in the province is now five. Below are details on these wildfires.

Barrington Lake, Shelburne County:

  • fire is still out of control, covering 24,980 hectares (249.8 square kilometres)
  • about 114 firefighters from Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) and more than 40 volunteer/municipal
  • air resources include four helicopters and four water bombers from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Lake Road, Municipality of the District of Shelburne:

  • fire is being held at an estimated 114 hectares
  • 15 DNRR firefighters.

Evacuation information for the Shelburne fires is available at: https://www.facebook.com/shelburneemo

Pubnico, Yarmouth County:

  • fire is being held at 138 hectares
  • firefighters on scene include 20 from DNRR and also volunteer/municipal.

Westwood Hills, Tantallon:

  • fire is under control at an estimated 950 hectares and is 100 per cent contained
  • firefighters on scene include 40 from DNRR, 30 from Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and nine from Department of National Defence

Containment efforts include a combination of fire-supressing methods including dozer breaks, natural breaks and nearby highways.

Hammonds Plains:

  • fire is under control at four hectares and is 100 per cent contained

Up-to-date information on HRM comfort centres, evacuation centres, response efforts and more, is available https://www.halifax.ca/ and by following @hfxgov on Twitter.

People are asked to please remain away from all wildfire areas. People should only call 911 if their health or safety is threatened and they need immediate help; for non-emergencies in HRM related to the police, people can call 902-490-5016.

Quick Facts:

  • there is a provincewide ban on open fires; the fine has been increased to $25,000 for breaking the burn ban
  • travel and activities in the woods are restricted
  • people should not operate drones over a forest fire; drones can interfere with the suppression effort and pose a danger to aircraft and first responders
  • when a wildfire is described as held or being held, it is not likely to move as long as conditions don’t change, but it is still out of control
  • when a wildfire is described as being contained, it is surrounded by either natural breaks (road, lake, river, etc.) or a dozer line or hose line

Additional Resources:

Information on school closures and other updates related to the wildfires are available at: https://novascotia.ca/alerts/

Restrictions on being in the woods: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230530003

Burn restrictions: https://novascotia.ca/burnsafe/

News Release - Increased Fine for Breaking Burn Ban: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230531004

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