Two water bombers, crews sent to Halifax

Residents should ‘be very careful out there,’ Gander fire chief says

The provincial government has sent two air tankers to Nova Scotia for a period of one to three days to assist in the effort to stop an outof-control wildfire in Upper Tantallon, a suburban community within the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Roughly 14,000 people have been evacuated from the area since late Sunday, May 28.

“We have responded to a request for assistance from Nova Scotia by providing two CL-415 water bombers. We have sent four pilots, two aircraft maintenance engineers and one mechanic to Halifax to support these planes,” an emailed statement from the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture said. “The province’s forest fire hazard forecast is favourable and permit sharing resources at this time. The water bombers can be recalled if weather conditions change.”

Newfoundland and Labrador has a total of four CL-415 water bombers, as well as helicopters and provincial forest fire suppression teams strategically located throughout the province, the statement said.

Last year, via an intraprovincial agreement, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island provided equipment and crews to combat the forest fire in the central region of the island of Newfoundland.

Parks Canada supplied a team of experts in restoring health to ecosystems that depend on fire, as well as firefighters and fire behaviour specialists.

“The national mutual aid sharing agreement recognizes that no single jurisdiction can be singly prepared for fires of this magnitude. The mutual aid sharing system works,” the statement said.

‘BE VERY CAUTIOUS’

While recent weather has been a blessing, a couple of days of hot temperatures and wind can make a huge difference, said Gander Fire Chief Harold Lowe.

“The last few years here, it’s been very windy and the wind helps dry everything out. We haven’t had a lot of snow stick around for any length of time, so the moisture in the ground is low,” he said. “The kind of rain we’re having right now, this is the best kind of rain because it’s slow. So, it will allow the ground to actually hold the moisture.

“If it comes down really fast, really hard, it just runs off and goes away and you don’t get benefit from it.”

Based on a 20-year average, 118 wildfires burn 22,993 hectares in N.L. each year. So far, there have been 67 forest fires, a very concerning number, Lowe said.

“That’s huge,” he said. “Be very careful out there. (There are) accidental starts all over the place.”

A fire in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, is believed to be the result of an ATV, Lowe said.

“So, you drive along with your ATV, if you stop somewhere, you got a hot muffler and that could be all it takes. Everybody thinks it’s, ‘Oh, we got cool weather, we got wet weather. We’re out of the woods,’” he said.

“Be very cautious out there.”