A fast-moving wildfire fueled by strong winds and dry conditions has resulted in the destruction of homes and the evacuation of several suburban communities northwest of Halifax, according to a report by The Canadian Press.
The blaze rapidly consumed the Tantallon area on Sunday afternoon, prompting the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Nova Scotia to issue an emergency alert around 5 pm urging residents to evacuate due to the threat of “structure and forest fires.”
While there have been no reported injuries, Halifax fire district chief Rob Hebb said the fire has swiftly moved eastward, propelled by steady winds of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching 40 km/h.
“The plume is visible from everywhere in the Halifax region,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
As the fire rapidly expanded, the provincial government issued two additional emergency alerts over the next three hours.
The first subdivision to be evacuated was Westwood, followed by the Highland Park subdivision in Hammonds Plains at around 6 pm. Another alert issued just before 8 pm expanded the evacuations to Haliburton Hills, Glen Arbour, Pockwood Road, Lucasville Road, and the White Hills subdivision.
Residents in these areas were directed to seek shelter at the Black Point and Area Community Centre.
Halifax firefighters also battled smaller brush fires in the Lawrencetown and Fall River areas, according to Hebb, while an additional emergency call reported an ammonia leak at a rink in Bedford.
“Basically, all hell is breaking loose,” the fire chief said.
In addition to the Halifax-area fires, another wildfire in southwestern Nova Scotia has escalated rapidly due to warm and windy conditions.
According to officials, the fire in Shelburne County grew from 775 hectares to an estimated 1,354 hectares on Sunday afternoon.
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