Firefighters anticipating difficult wildfire conditions in Annapolis County

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Over 100 firefighters and multiple air units continue to attack the flames of a persistent wildfire in Annapolis Valley on Tuesday.

Scott Tingley and Jim Rudderham, manager and director of forest protection with Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said the fire is estimated to be 3,210 hectares, larger than the Bedford Basin in Halifax. Crews are thankful for the relief of dry conditions and winds to start the week, resulting in good progress.

In the afternoon update, officials said the fire has not grown but they are preparing for a challenging few days ahead as wind patterns are expected to shift and persisting hot temperatures return.

“When there’s no rain in the forecast, it’s still going to take significant effort,” Tingley said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “There’s still activity (flames), and we expect that activity to increase.”

Compared to several nights ago when the blaze doubled in size, Tingley said, firefighters are seeing open flames.

“It’s still burning very hot and very deep, and those are indications of the drought conditions we’re under. It’s taking significant effort to suppress this fire,” he explained.

Related:

• Long Lake wildfire jumped road as crews put sprinklers around homes
• Long Lake wildfire nearly doubles in size overnight
• Resources stretched thin as crews battle large fire in Annapolis County

Crews were able to clear dead vegetation and put barriers of sprinklers around homes in the West Dalhousie community to slow the rapid advance of the blaze. Over the next several days, officials will be keeping a close eye on the weather.

“It’s going to be an equation of how effective we have been in the areas where we’ve been putting suppression,” Tingley said.

To date, there have been no reports of damage to homes, but teams said that “a few” trailers and campers have been lost.

As of Tuesday, there are 93 DNR firefighters, 22 from Ontario and 25 local members. Four CL-802 skimmer aircraft from the Northwest Territories continue to battle the fire from the sky along with one helicopter.

A “quick air strike” by a group from New Brunswick helped beat back the wildfire late Monday.

A group of five from Prince Edward Island were redeployed to Digby County for a fire named Simonds Lake. As of 8:10 p.m. on Monday, DNR said the blaze was being held at 1.75 hectares. It started as a structure fire that spread to the woods.

What it’s like on the ground

The area where the fire is located is extremely dense woods, with a mix of soft and hardwood trees, along with plants. This area of the province has seen less rain than most other counties, according to Allister Aalders, 95.7’s weather specialist.

These factors, along with the elevation changes, are a recipe for a fast-moving wildfire, officials have said. Due to the dry vegetation the fire quickly consumes the fuels along the forest floor to then climb up the trees.

Late last week, officials described this as “extreme fire behaviour” where there are active flames crews are battling.

On Monday, officials said the fire jumped the West Dalhousie Road.

Crews work with heavy equipment to create a fire break around part of the Long Lake wildfires complex. (Province of Nova Scotia)