head 60p Homeowners tour destruction

Residents take ‘surreal’ ride into wildfire evacuation zone

Some evacuees from the Tantallon wildfire hug outside the Canada Games Centre after taking a tour aboard a bus that gave them their first look at the condition ofsthpeoir hromtess on Friday.

Some residents were able to enter the evacuation zone Friday for the first time to see some of the damage done during the Tantallon wildfires.

Jason and Mary Young were among a group of homeowners, whose homes have been destroyed or heavily damaged in the wildfire, to board one of four Halifax Transit buses to see their property in person for the first time since an evacuation order was put in place Sunday.

The couple had seen photos of their home at 40 Kata Court in Hammonds Plains since being evacuated and were aware that it had burned down, but they wanted to take Halifax Regional Municipality up on its offer to see it in person.

Jason said it was surreal to drive down streets lined with burned trees and empty properties.

“You’d see three or four houses in a row that are missing and then three or four houses that are there and some houses it’s just the siding that are missing,” he said.

When the bus pulled up in front of where their house once stood, there was little left behind to see.

“The house is gone. The shed is gone. Everything’s gone. On our property, there’s nothing left. It’s completely gone,” Jason said after returning from the bus ride.

“It makes it real. You look at it and there’s absolutely nothing.”

Mary said the bus driver stopped in front of the property of every homeowner on the bus for as long as they wanted.

“Any requests that were made to stop, they would stop and they would stop for as long as anybody needed to take it all in and then once they were ready, once they kind of collected themselves, we were ready to move on,” Mary recalled.

Jason and Mary, who plan to rebuild on their property, said they were comforted being surrounded by people in their community as they made the difficult drive through their neighbourhood.

“We were all there just hugging each other and we would stop and people would just stare at their properties and break down, but we would be there for each other and giving words of comfort to each other because we understand what we’re all going through,” Mary said.

Residents, however, had to remain on the bus at all times due to safety reasons.

For Molly Deveau, who lost her home on Blue Jay Lane in Hammonds Plains, that was enough reason to turn down the bus ride.

“I am wanting to get in there when I am able to walk my property. I know that will come in time,” Deveau said, adding she’s in no rush since she has already seen photos of her property.

Jody Stuart also declined to go on the bus ride offered by the municipality to all homeowners whose homes have been deemed inhabitable.

“I just feel like when I want to see my property, I want to be able to do it with my family by ourselves and actually physically be able to go in,” Stuart said.

Stuart, who lives on Jenna Lane in Hammonds Plains, said almost everything he owns was destroyed in the wildfire.

“My property’s gone. Everything’s gone. Cars, trucks, house, garage. Everything. This is what I got,” he said, motioning to his truck behind him, where his daughter sat in the passenger seat.

Stuart said he was sent pictures of his property after a friend told him his house was gone and was officially notified by the municipality that his home had been destroyed.

He said only two homes on his street, where he’s lived for nearly 16 years, are still standing.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. Stuart, who is a contractor, said he plans to rebuild on his property and was a little bit more optimistic after chatting with his insurance company Friday.

“We don’t plan on leaving our community because we love our community and we miss it. It just goes to show how strong it is,” he said.

And community is one of the reasons why Ian Vanderberg showed up at the Canada Games Centre on Friday.

Vanderberg was also evacuated due to the wildfires on Sunday.

While his home in Upper Hammonds Plains is still standing, Vanderberg wanted to provide some resources from the hotel he is currently staying at to some of his fellow evacuees.

“My heart goes out to ’em. I know the community’s never going to be the same but I know that people will come together. That’s already happened,” he said.

Vanderberg said he, like many others, is still in shock and trying to take things one step at a time.

Cathie O’toole, chief administrative officer of Halifax Regional Municipality, said there will most likely be another opportunity for residents of the 151 homes that were destroyed or damaged to go through the evacuation zone on a bus tour on Saturday.

“But of course, it’s all depending on the fire conditions,” she said.

As of 5 p.m. Friday, the Tantallon wildfire was 50 per cent contained but remained out of control.

There was a glimmer of hope, however, as part of the evacuation order was rescinded late Friday afternoon for residents in the Lucasville Road area, Hammonds Plains south of Pinetree Crescent, Stillwater Lake/haliburton Hills area and Tantallon Plaza.