An evacuation order was expanded Sunday afternoon and again in the evening as the Long Lake wildfire in Annapolis County, N.S., continues to grow due to strong winds and high temperatures.
An emergency alert Sunday evening said evacuations were being extended to include Highway 10 around Trout, Zwicker and East lakes, Old Liverpool Road, Che-Boag-A-Nish Road and West Dalhousie Road in Albany Cross.
Another post by the Department of Natural Resources said the fire remains out of control and growing. It said the fire has crossed West Dalhousie Road at several points, crossed Thorne Road and moved as far as Paradise Lake.
Earlier Sunday, an alert said the evacuation order was expanding to include homes on Morse Road between civic numbers 571 and 1073, and on Thorne Road between civic numbers 4272 and 4291.
Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection with Natural Resources, told reporters Sunday afternoon that weather conditions are working against the efforts of firefighters trying to bring the blaze in the West Dalhousie area under control.
“Everything in fire behaviour you don’t want happening is happening today, so we have winds, high winds, we have no rain, we have high temperatures and low humidity,” Rudderham said at a briefing on the fire.
More than 100 homes were evacuated — affecting roughly 215 people — on Aug. 14, a day after the fire started.
Sunday’s alert said the new evacuees should check in at the emergency reception centre at the Bridgetown fire hall.
The size of the fire was last estimated at 3,255 hectares — or more than 32 square kilometres. Natural Resources said Sunday evening that an updated estimate won’t be possible until the volume of smoke being generated by the wildfire lessens.
Scott Tingley, the department’s manager of forest protection, told reporters on Sunday afternoon that the fire had likely expanded overnight Saturday and would continue to grow.
“This is the day we’ve been planning for and, to be quite honest, hoping wouldn’t come true in the forecast. It’s going to be a challenging day,” said Tingley.
He said that on Saturday night, part of the fire was estimated to be a kilometre away from West Dalhousie Road, while the most intense part of the fire was about three kilometres from the road.
The wildfire command post was moved from the West Dalhousie area to Bridgetown on Saturday as a precautionary measure.
In a social media post, Nova Scotia Power said it could temporarily shut off electricity on Morse Road with little or no notice so first responders can safely work around their equipment.
Tingley said the Department of Emergency Management is working to set up sprinklers around homes, structures and woods in the area to mitigate the impacts of the fire if it reaches the community.
Environment Canada said wind gusts of 40 km/h were expected in the West Dalhousie area Sunday. It also issued an air quality warning for Annapolis County, saying that smoke from the wildfire “will significantly reduce air quality downwind.”
There is rain in the forecast for Monday, but officials caution that a lot more rain is needed to make a dent in the wildfire. Rudderham said the possible emergence of new fires elsewhere in the province remains a major concern while dry conditions persist.
Natural Resources said its next update on the fire will come Monday morning.
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