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CTV.ca | Halifax brush fire forces more residents to evacuate
Updated Fri. May. 1 2009 9:03 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
A shroud of thick choking smoke hung over Halifax Friday morning as a huge brush fire continued to burn on the outskirts of the city, forcing more evacuations overnight.
Lloyd Curry of the Halifax Region Fire Services told CTV's Canada AM that another 150 homes were evacuated after fresh flare-ups. More than 1200 people have been forced to flee their homes.
"The community is very stressed. They're concerned and wondering about their homes. We're keeping updated as much as we can. Our first responders on the scene are getting tired," Curry said.
Evacuees are being housed in a recreational facility in the community of Herring Cove, just south of Halifax.
One evacuee said he escaped by driving through a wall of flames to reach safety.
Eight homes have been destroyed by the fast moving flames, with another eight to 10 suffering damage. But there are no reports yet of injuries or missing persons.
Fire crews continue to battle the blaze, but intense, shifting winds are whipping up new hot spots. Still, the situation appears better than it did last night.
Bill Mosher, chief director of Halifax Fire Services told CTV's Canada AM "crews did have an opportunity to get into those areas and put out those hot spots to make sure no further homes were damaged". But he cautioned that "there's a couple of areas not under control".
Fire crews may also get some help from the skies, with rain forecast for later in the day.
Halifax Mayor Peter J. Kelly toured the scene by helicopter this morning.
More than 100 firefighters were on the scene yesterday. Aerial water bombers from neighbouring New Brunswick helped beat back the flames.
The fire started yesterday but was thought to be under control, until winds picked up Thursday afternoon, sparking 15 metre flames that jumped from treetop to treetop.
The area the fire is threatening has a number of new subdivisions, featuring a number of very exclusive houses.
Local musician Brett Ryan told CTV Newsnet that he thought his home, along with a number of his neighbours', were destroyed in the Fortress Drive subdivision.
He said the situation went from distant smoke to fire in his backyard in a matter of minutes.
Ryan said he and his wife, got their kids, and decided to leave before an official evacuation order was given.
"If we waited another five minutes . . . I dare say we would not have gotten out of there," he said. "I was actually driving through the flames up the street in order to get out."
He said that fire officials were not able to tell him for sure that his home was lost, but that the subdivision was extensively damaged and at least one home "blew up" in a propane explosion.
Recent fires near Halifax have been partially blamed on the aftermath of 2003's Hurricane Juan, which knocked down many trees, leaving forests with a thick underbelly of kindling wood.
