Evacuation orders being lifted for some properties near Long Lake wildfire

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Evacuation orders for hundreds of addresses in Annapolis County will be lifted on Sept. 3, allowing many forced from their homes by a wildfire to return.

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Emergency Services said that about 360 properties were evacuated around Trout Lake, Zwickers Lake, East Lake and along Highway 10 in the area of New Albany. People will be allowed back after more than a week away.

Those residing in West Dalhousie, from Che-Boag-A-Nish Road to Meadow Road, all of Heartland Road, Thorne Road and Medicraft Lane are still not allowed to return home. Morse Road remains closed from Neaves Road to West Dalhousie Road. This translates to about 131 addresses still in the evacuation zone.

It will be a staged re-entry approach beginning Wednesday morning.

Andrew Mitton, Director of Regional Operations, Department of Emergency Management, said that those returning will have to show proof of ID before being allowed into the area. Those who were evacuated from their secondary property will need to show officials a bill or a document with the address on it.

Re-entry timing for residents:

• 9:00 a.m. – All roads around Trout Lake
• 11:00 a.m. – Roads around Zwickers Lake and East Lake
• 1:00 p.m. – Highway 10; West Dalhousie Road from Highway 10 to Che-Boag-A-Nish Road; and Che-Boag-A-Nish Road (Connell Lake).
• 4:00 p.m.: Highway 10 will be opening for the general public

Evacuation orders are lifted for those in the greyed-out zone, northeast of the Long Lake wildfire. (Province of Nova Scotia)

“We understand the people who are very anxious about going back, but we have to ensure safety at all times,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

The Long Lake wildfire is still considered to be out of control and remains the province’s largest blaze to date this season. Over the weekend, it grew to 8,468 hectares; however, that was on the south side of the complex. This part of the wildfire is considered to be the most active.

Teams were able to create more guards around the north side of the blaze, and some rain did help create better conditions than what crews have been facing. Although Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection with DNR, has noted that the area needs several days of rain.

“It’s very spotty, and we still need good rain to help us with this fire,” he said.

The area where the evacuation orders were lifted received around 7 mm of precipitation, but the other portion of the blaze didn’t get any.

Since the beginning of the situation, firefighters have been focused on saving homes in the area and preventing further damage to infrastructure as the wildfire grew northward. With the large attention there, it allowed crews to save the majority of homes in the area.

“The south end of the fire is challenging due to the fuel types and the winds, and a lot of the initial effort has been focused on the north end and securing that part of the fire,” Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with DNR, said.