Nova Scotians can return to the woods in parts of the province.
“I hope this offers a little bit of bright news to to some Nova Scotians as they head into the the long weekend for many people,” Premier Tim Houston told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
Houston said Friday that a provincewide ban would end for some areas at 4 p.m., but the ban remains for several counties.
Houston said the decision to partially lift the ban in some areas came from Department of Natural Resources data. He said the recent rainfall also helped.
“The professionals have determined that for some areas of the province, the [fire] index is no longer extreme and no longer expected to reach extreme numbers again and anytime in the near future,” Houston said.
“In other areas it’s still extreme, but in some it’s not. So for those areas that it is no longer extreme, we are able to ease some of the restrictions.”
Restrictions on entering the woods have been in effect in Nova Scotia since Aug. 5. The provincial government put it in place due to an elevated wildfire risk due to prolonged dry conditions.
Jim Rudderham, director of fleet and forest protection for Natural Resources, told reporters on Friday that drought conditions in the province were extreme when the woods ban was put in place.
“Now we’re almost to September and given the rain that we received in these areas in the past little while and given the amount of time that’s left historically in this province and doing some forecasting out, there’s probably not enough time left for [drought levels] to get back to where they were,” Rudderham said.
The woods restrictions are ending in the following counties:
In a news release Friday, the Halfiax Regional Municipality said it is in the process of removing barricades and signs at its parks, trails and greenspaces. It said the process could take a few days.
“For the rest of the province, I’m sorry the the ban remains in place. The risk is still high and extremely high,” Houston said.
The woods ban remains in the following counties:
Houston says Nova Scotia’s burn ban is still in effect provincewide. The fine for violating the ban is $25,000.
Rudderham said the Long Lake Wildfire — which began on Aug. 13 — is estimated to be 8,234 hectares, which is the same figure announced Thursday.
Natural Resources said there have been no new reports of damage.
Rudderham said he’s hoping for lots of rain this weekend.
“It’s still a battle. It’s still not under control. People have to remember that. It’s a work in progress,” Rudderham said.
In a social media post on Friday, Natural Resources said “work continues to prevent spread toward communities with 11 helicopters, six planes, 70-plus pieces of heavy equipment and 16 DNR, 90 Ontario and 66 local firefighters.”
Twenty homes have been lost to the fire.
On Friday, the Municipality of the County of Annapolis renewed its state of local emergency for a second time to “support management of the ongoing West Dalhousie wildfires, which continue to burn out of control.”
