Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources confirmed on Wednesday that an out-of-control wildfire in Halifax was human caused.
During a news conference, manager of forest protection Scott Tingley said crews found an open fire when they arrived on scene on Tuesday afternoon, but whoever started the fire wasn’t around.
“That makes it impossible to hold the person or people responsible to account. And yeah, that’s frustrating to everyone,” Tingley told reporters.
Tingley said a 911 call was placed at 2:24 p.m. on Tuesday to report the fire in the Susies Lake area near the north entrance to Bayers Lake Business Park, which is located about 10 kilometres west of downtown Halifax.
In the last 24 hours, Tingley said crews have responded to 17 wildfires in the province because of the dry weather and “activities that are happening out there that shouldn’t be” — including the one in Bayers Lake. He said in the past three weeks, DNR has responded to one or more reports every day.
Most fires have been extinguished quickly, he said.
A reporter asked Premier Tim Houston at the news conference about speculation the fire was connected to a homeless encampment.
“The investigation in time will look at the what, the why, the how — all those types of things, but for right now the focus is just on containing the fire, fighting the fires and just reiterating to Nova Scotians it’s a risky situation,” Houston said.
On Aug. 5, the province banned people from entering the woods under the Forest Act, saying the restriction is required given the high risk for wildfires. A ban on open fires is also in place.
Travel and activity in the woods were also banned in May 2023 while the province battled two major wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes. Bans were also implemented in 2016 and 2001 due to fires and dry conditions.
The province is also “strongly recommending” additional precautions for industrial and farm operations on private land which are not currently under the mandatory ban, which only covers commercial activity on Crown land.
Those additional precautions include working only between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 a.m.; fire suppression equipment on hand, and there must be a two-hour fire watch after work is completed.
Wildfire air support close enough to give ‘the pilot a Pepsi’
So far, the province has issued 12 fines to people breaking the woods ban and the burn ban. The fine is $25,000. Houston said he’d like to see each of those cases “fully prosecuted and collected.”
Houston was asked about criticism of the woods ban from federal Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner. On Wednesday, she said inaction from the federal government on wildfires has conditioned Canadians to expect the only response to be to restrict movement.
Houston said he’s not concerned about what people who don’t live in Nova Scotia have to say about the province’s measures to keep people safe.
“I guess I find it remarkable the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here very much in their life. We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives and that’s what we’re doing in this case,” Houston said.
When pressed further that the woods ban has been a flash point in some Canadian conservative circles with people concerned it is the first step in government climate lockdowns, Houston said he doesn’t “have any time for any type of conspiracy theories.”
“We haven’t had any rain in Nova Scotia since June, so the thoughts and opinions of people who haven’t been in Nova Scotia, who don’t know what it’s like in Nova Scotia, who probably have never been in the woods in Nova Scotia in their life — the thoughts and concerns of those people are not a top priority for me right now,” he said.
“My top priority is keeping Nova Scotians safe.”
Houston said the next few weeks in Nova Scotia will be difficult because the province is a tinder box and rain is needed.
“I know the restrictions that are in place aren’t fun, but they’re necessary,” Houston said.
Update from province on N.S. wildfire situation
