Evacuation orders mount as fire rages in Upper Tantallon, Hammonds Plains area
Nova Scotia RCMP have ordered residents of subdivisions in the Upper Tantallon/Hammonds Plains area to leave their homes in the face of a fast-moving wildfire.
The Westwood Hills subdivision in Upper Tantallon, N.S., was the first to begin an evacuation as the fire consumed at least 10 homes.
Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency District Chief Rob Hebb said dozens of crews were at the site attempting to control the fire. One helicopter was at the scene and another was on the way.
Deputy Chief Dave Meldrum said in an update Sunday night that there have been no injuries reported from the fire. He expects people should be prepared to be away from their homes potentially for "an extended period of time."
"Our firefighters are going to be here for days and days. When this fire is knocked down, there is still a lot of work to be done to dig out any hidden fire in the ground ... this will be a prolonged operation and folks should be prepared for that."
A photo taken Sunday shows smoke from fire in the area. (Dave Irish/CBC)
Meldrum said residents need to be vigilant about being fire safe by not doing any outdoor burning and being careful in disposing of cigarettes. Domestic brush burning and campfires were banned in most of the province on Sunday.
"Help us by not allowing more fires to start," Meldrum said.
Nova Scotia RCMP sent a tweet prior to an emergency alert being issued telling residents of the area to evacuate their homes immediately via Winslow Drive to Hammonds Plains Road.
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Subsequent emergency alerts at 6:11 p.m. and 7:41 p.m. said the evacuation order was extended to residents of the Highland Park subdivision in nearby Yankeetown, Haliburton Hills, Glen Arbour, Pockwock Road, White Hills subdivision and Lucasville Road to Sackville Drive.
Residents were told to take their pets with them.
People are being asked to stay away from the area.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from Citadel Hill in Halifax on Sunday. (Celina Aalders/CBC)
Comfort centres
The following comfort centres will be open to help residents impacted by the fires in the Tantallon area:
Black Point and Area Community Centre at 8579 St Margarets Bay Road. The comfort centre is open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Canada Games Centre at 26 Thomas Raddall Drive. The comfort centre is open until further notice.
Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre at 1583 Beaver Bank Road. The comfort centre is open beginning at 9 p.m. and will be open until further notice.
Nova Scotia Power has temporarily disconnected electricity in the area to help first responders work safely.
"Our crews will continue to work safely to restore power to our affected customers as quickly as possible. Updates and restoration times can be found on our outage map," Jacqueline Klaus, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power told CBC News in an email.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising people who live near the fire to close all windows and doors, shut down air exchangers and stay inside until air quality conditions improve.
It is also advising people close to the fire to monitor the situation and be prepared to leave if needed. The municipality said people who need to evacuate should bring their pets, medications and supplies for 72 hours.
This map highlights the areas affected by the wildfires. (CBC)
Power is out in much of the evacuated areas due to fire, according to Nova Scotia Power's outage map. As of 8 p.m. AT on Sunday, more than 3,000 people had lost their power due to fire in the areas of Upper Tantallon, Stillwater Lake and Yankeetown. A further 1,372 people in the areas of Upper Hammonds Plains and Glen Arbour had lost their power because the outage was requested by authorities, according to the utility. (Nova Scotia Power)
The Halifax Regional Centre for Education said the following schools would be closed on Monday: Bay View High, Hammonds Plains Consolidated, Kingswood Elementary, Tantallon Junior Elementary, Tantallon Senior Elementary and Madeline Symonds Middle School.
Area resident Cynthia McKenzie said she left her home with her family and pets. She said they are safe and sheltering in a pet store in the area.
She said she was cooking dinner when her husband said they had to leave immediately.
"It just happened so fast," she said. "I grabbed my animals as quick as I could and my photos and albums as best I could and got in the truck and headed out."
She said the smoke and flames were so bad that they had to turn around and take another route to get out of the subdivision.
"You couldn't see your hand in front of you," she said.
Residents of Westwood Hills and Yankeetown subdivisions were ordered to evacuate Sunday. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
Shawn Beaulieu, a resident of the area, said he and his son were out shopping and were told to turn around when they tried to return to the subdivision where his wife was.
He said he and his son are taking temporary shelter at a restaurant in Upper Tantallon that opened its doors to evacuees.
"It's frustrating, but it's better to be alive," he said. The three were reunited later in the day.
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Taylor Martin, who lives about a seven-minute drive from the fire said she and her partner, Kirk Jessome, were preparing for a possible evacuation order.
"We're getting things together," she said. "Packing up necessities, getting the crate for our cat ready, getting all our important documents ready. Making sure everything is set to go if we have to leave."
She said she is lucky that she has family who will make room for them.
Residents are seen leaving the area on Sunday afternoon. Evacuatation orders were issued for two subdivisions. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
Jessome said that with the fire spreading, people are outside the subdivision and waiting for what is next. He said the area is packed with people and roads are jammed.
Environment Canada issued an air quality alert for Halifax Metro and Halifax County West shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday. It said smoke from the fire in Upper Tantallon has reduced visibility and air quality in the area downwind of the fire.
It said people respond differently to smoke and mild irritation and discomfort are common.
Cars were seen heading away from the area on Sunday afternoon. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
The alert said people should take a break from the smoke at a community location with cool, clean air.
CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said firefighters have a number of challenges.
"Halifax firefighters are not only battling the fire, they are also battling the wind," he said. "Gusty west/southwest winds are fanning the flames right now.
Smoke is seen billowing in the air in Highland Park in Hammonds Plains. (Aly Thomson/CBC)
"Winds shift to northerly this evening, but unfortunately, will remain breezy through the day on Monday. Winds look set to become lighter Monday night and Tuesday.
Snoddon said there was a chance of isolated showers later Sunday, but they wouldn't be of much help to the firefighters. He said there isn't another significant chance of rain until Friday.
Thumbnail image courtesy of Katy Parsons/CBC.
This article was originally written and published by CBC News.
