Drier conditions returning to Annapolis County where wildfire spreads

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Additional air and ground resources came to battle the growing blaze in Annapolis County that has destroyed homes.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said in an update on Thursday morning that there are now 11 helicopters, six planes and bird dogs attacking the flames from the sky. On the ground, there are a crew of 12 from DNR, 89 from Ontario, 70 local firefighters, plus more than 70 heavy equipment operators desperately trying to limit the spread of Nova Scotia’s largest and only out-of-control wildfire.

The blaze is estimated to be about 8,247 hectares, almost five times as big as the Bedford Basin in Halifax.

Officials are trying to prevent damage to more structures in West Dalhousie and are working quickly as drier conditions return to the area. A slight bit of rain on Wednesday afternoon aided teams in building up barriers between the flames and the dry forest.

“An incident management team and crew of 20 firefighters arrived from Ontario to (switch) off Nova Scotia staff,” DNR said in Wednesday evening’s update. “They will transition in this evening, tomorrow. This is standard practice when wildfires extend over longer periods.”

Experts have warned that because of the drought conditions and lack of rain in the forecast, this is expected to be a long incident.