Fire forces thousands to evacuate in eastern Canada

More than 16,000 people flee their homes as crews battle blazes near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The capital of the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia declared a state of emergency after an out-of-control bushfire near Halifax forced thousands of residents to evacuate and led to school closures.

The Halifax Regional Municipality has set up temporary housing for people fleeing the fire and reminded residents early Monday that evacuation orders are mandatory.

The wildfire, fueled by strong winds and wood as dry as tinder, has damaged dozens of homes and hampered rescue services, authorities said.

Dave Meldrum, deputy chief of the Halifax Fire, told reporters Monday there were no reports of missing people or injuries, but structures were damaged or destroyed.

“Our firefighters and other partners worked hard to evacuate a large area of ​​our city yesterday and we stayed put last night,” Meldrum said.

“We had 100 firefighters here on scene overnight, fighting spot fires, extinguishing structures that were on fire, keeping more structures from being lost where we could,” he said.

Halifax, a port city of about 480,000 people, declared a state of emergency Sunday night to help respond to the fire, which was still burning in the nearby areas of Tantallon and Hammonds Plains.

in a separate statement on Monday morning, it said more than 60 hectares (148 acres) had burned while some 16,400 people had been evacuated from their homes.

“There is not yet a complete damage count, but it is anticipated that several structures have been lost,” the municipality said.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said water pumps had arrived from the eastern provinces of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to help local crews.

“We are in contact with our municipal and federal partners to ensure all resources are exhausted,” Houston wrote on Twitter.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was “ready to provide whatever federal support and assistance is necessary.”

We have multiple fires in Nova Scotia right now. Pay attention to emergency alerts in affected areas.

Water bombers have arrived from NB and NL to provide additional support and have been actively working the fires for the past hour.

—Tim Houston (@TimHoustonNS) May 29, 2023

“The wildfire situation in Nova Scotia is incredibly dire,” Trudeau tweeted.

“We are thinking of everyone affected and we are thanking those who are working hard to keep people safe,” he said.

He alberta provinces The US and British Columbia in western Canada have also been dealing with unusually hot weather that has sparked several wildfires out of control, cutting off oil and gas production. However, most of those fires have already been brought under control.

Many experts have pointed to climate change as a factor worsening extreme weather events such as wildfires, heat waves, and tropical storms around the world.

In 2016, wildfires in the Alberta tar sands region disrupted oil production, forced 100,000 residents to leave Fort McMurray and hit the Canadian economy.

TO Brutal heat wave in British Columbia in 2021 it caused hundreds of deaths. The heat also sparked dozens of wildfires, forcing evacuations and burning entire communities to the ground.