Nova Scotia has 16 active wildfires as of June 1; several are out of control, including the largest, Barrington Lake fire in Shelburne County, covering 18,173 hectares

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia , June 1, 2023 (press release) –

There are currently 16 active wildfires in the province. Below are details on the five largest wildfires.

Barrington Lake, Shelburne County:

• fire is still out of control, covering 18,173 hectares (181.7 square kilometres)
• firefighters include more than 35 from Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) and more than 40 volunteer/municipal.

Lake Road, Municipality of the District of Shelburne:

• fire is still out of control, estimated at 120 hectares
• 23 DNRR firefighters

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

Pubnico, Yarmouth County:

• fire is still out of control and covers 163 hectares
• firefighters on scene include 20 from DNRR and 10 volunteer/municipal

Air and heavy equipment resources, including eight air tankers from New Brunswick and two water bombers from Newfoundland and Labrador, are being co-ordinated between the three wildfires in Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.

Westwood Hills, Tantallon:

• fire is 50 per cent contained, but still out of control, at an estimated 837 hectares
• firefighters on scene include 40 from DNRR, six from Prince Edward Island, 117 from Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and nine from Department of National Defence
• air resources include three helicopters and one water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Containment efforts include a combination of fire-supressing methods including dozer breaks, natural breaks, and nearby highways. The fire still poses a number of areas of concern, keeping the status out of control.

Hammonds Plains:

• fire is holding at four hectares and is 80 per cent contained
• 10 HRM volunteer firefighters are on scene

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.

Quick Facts:

• there is a provincewide ban on open fires; the fine has been increased to $25,000 for breaking the burn ban
• 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
• 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

Additional Resources:

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

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

News Release - Province Announces Restrictions During Wildfires: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20230530003

News Release - Increased Fine for Breakin

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