Articles

50. Halifax councillors hope to make Tantallon wildfire ‘a catalyst for change’ (by Zane Woodford, August 23, 2023)

49. Hammonds Plains residents raise alarm about fire evacuation plans for middle school (by Zane Woodford, August 21, 2023)

48. The helpers in an emergency and crisis communications that aren’t communicating at all (Morning File, July 25, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

47. Tantallon homeowner says insurance company not paying out claims, stopped communicating (July 25, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

46. Officials failed to drain Lake Pisiquid in time to prevent flooding in downtown Windsor (July 22, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

45. Nova Scotia cabinet minister John Lohr is lying to the public in order to improperly use the Emergency Act for political purposes (Morning File, June 30, 2023, by Tim Bousquet and Yvette d’Entremont)

44. Halifax to get Vulnerable Persons Registry to support people at ‘exponential’ risk in a crisis (June 21, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

43. Councillor wants report on managing wildfire risk, says budget must prioritize community safety (June 21, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

42. Halifax council approves regional growth plan that considers impacts of climate change, wildfires (June 21, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

41. Cabinet briefs: fire safety, MOVEit hack, and Houston has doubts about Atlantic Loop (June 16, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson)

40. Minister Lohr takes heat for emergency order to open Avon River aboiteau, overriding DFO order (June 15, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson and Joan Baxter)

39. Wildfires reignite debate over banning sale of consumer fireworks (Morning File, June 14, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

38. EMO Minister John Lohr said he ordered the Avon River aboiteau closed after a request from the Windsor Fire Department. But Fire Chief Jamie Juteau says he never made that request (June 13, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

37. The Halifax Examiner is still on the fire beat (Morning File, June 12, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

36. Retired Halifax firefighter Paul Irving says he urged that the FireSmart program be adopted in 2004, but was ignored (by June 12, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson)

35. The NS wildfires are not ‘natural’ disasters: climate change, forest management, and human folly are all to blame (June 12, 2023, by Joan Baxter)

34. Will the Tantallon Fire lead to change or one more ‘Betsy Boomerang’ moment? (June 12, 2023, by Stephen Kimber)

33. 3 years after Portapique, the Emergency Alert system is still broken (Morning File, June 9, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

32. Most of 4,100 evacuated residents may return home Friday; Halifax setting up community hub for evacuees (June 8, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

31. An expert explains the science of wildfires (June 8, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

30. Time waits for no one — not for second exits to be built, not for Stephen McNeil to be summoned by Parliament (June 7, 2023, Morning File by Tim Bousquet)

29. Halifax regional council talks secondary exits in communities across HRM (June 7, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

28. Reporters get first look at heart of Tantallon Fire destruction (June 6, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

27. Fire update: Emergency alerts should be used for most urgent threats; recisions don’t meet criteria (June 6, 2023, Morning File by Suzanne Rent and Tim Bousquet)

26. Officials have known for years about the wildfire risks in Tantallon (June 5, 2023, Morning File by Tim Bousquet)

25. Tantallon fire contained, travel, activity ban lifted; Barrington Lake fire still out of control (June 4, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

24. Rain brings relief to firefighters, but Tantallon may remain a fire scene for weeks or months (June 3, 2023 by Tim Bousquet)

23. Mental health services on site at Halifax evacuation centre for residents displaced by fires (June 2, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

22. Province issues emergency order to close Windsor aboiteau (June 2, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson)

21. Today’s fire news. The Halifax Examiner is here for you again; will you be here for the Halifax Examiner? (June 2, 2023, Morning File, by Tim Bousquet)

20. IWK: Creating safe spaces can help reduce anxiety in children during, after wildfires (June 2, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

19: Halifax Fire deputy chief pleads with residents to stop illegal burns, as new fires blaze in HRM (June 1, 2023, by Suzanne Rent and Jennifer Henderson)

18. IBC: Holds on new insurance policies common on purchase of homes within wildfire radius (June 1, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

17. Tantallon wildfire 50% contained; new fire in Shelburne County, while others out of control (June 1, 2023, Morning File, by Suzanne Rent and Tim Bousquet)

16. New fire, more evacuations in Shelburne County as other fires continue to blaze out of control (June 1, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson)

15. Staff, volunteers at evacuation centre in Halifax say support from community ‘overwhelming’ (May 31, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

14. Premier pleads for help with Nova Scotia’s out-of-control fires (May 31, 2023, by Tim Bousquet and Zane Woodford)

13. ‘Please send more water bombers’: Volunteer firefighters in Shelburne plead for more help (May 31, 2023, by Jennifer Henderson)

12. Respirologist suggests Nova Scotians stay inside to protect lung health from wildfire smoke (May 31, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

11. Fire news, and why reporters should be allowed into fire zones (May 31, 2023, Morning File, by Tim Bousquet)

10. Several Bedford streets evacuated due to new wildfire, potential ammonia leak (May 30, 2023, by Yvette d’Entremont)

9. Halifax considers shrinking evacuation area, reports 151 homes lost in Tantallon fire (May 30, 2023, by Zane Woodford)

8. Travel, activity banned in Nova Scotia forests as three wildfires continue to burn (May 30, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

7. Meet the volunteers working to rescue pets from homes evacuated due to the Tantallon fire (May 30, 2023, by Zane Woodford)

6. Tantallon wildfire: blaze still ‘out of control,’ concerns about reburn, update on loss of homes (May 30, 2023, Morning File, by Philip Moscovitch and Tim Bousquet)

5. Halifax Fire had warned that 3 subdivisions evacuated in Tantallon fire were built with ‘inadequate water sources to fight fires’ (May 29, 2023, by Tim Bousquet)

4. Halifax says ‘approximately 200 homes or structures’ damaged in Tantallon fire (May 29, 2023, by Zane Woodford)

3. Founder of wildlife rehab says it will take months for animals to recover from Nova Scotia fires (May 29, 2023, by Suzanne Rent)

2. People evacuated due to Tantallon fire, now counted at 16,000, to receive $500 per household (May 29, 2023, by Suzanne Rent and Zane Woodford)

1. What we know about the Tantallon Fire, and how to better prepare for and respond to fires (May 29, 2023, Morning File, by Tim Bousquet and Suzanne Rent)

Resources

Please contact Iris with links you find useful

Provincial

Municipal

  • Halifax.ca : Updates on comfort centres, evacuation information, evacuee registration form, response efforts, and more
  • Shelburne County East Emergency Management (Facebook)

Maps

Evacuation

  • Checklist: PDF to download or print
  • All residents who have been required to evacuate must register with 311
    (toll-free 1-800-835-6428)
  • Anyone living in the local state of emergency zone should have a bag packed and ready as you may only have a short time to evacuate if that call is made.

Comfort Centres

  • The comfort centre at the Canada Games Centre at 26 Thomas Raddall Dr. in Clayton Park is open noon until 9pm as of Saturday, June 3.
  • There is also a mobile mental health clinic on Tuesday at the Canada Games Centre for those impacted by the wildfires in HRM.
  • The LifeWorks Crisis Support Line is open 24/7 and can be reached at 1-844-751-2133.
  • Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has representatives on site at the Canada Games Centre from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Donations

Animals

Social Media

Twitter and Mastodon:

  • Haligonia.ca: @haligonia, @haligonia@mstdn.ca
  • Halifax Fire News: @HRMFireNews
  • HalifaxFire (official Twitter of HRM fire department): @hfxfire
  • Natural Resources and Renewables: @NS_DNRR

Facebook:

Burn ban, activity ban, parks, and camping

Burn Ban:

There is currently a burn ban across Nova Scotia and no open fires are permitted. The ban applies to provincial parks, private campgrounds, backyard campfires, brush burning, and fireworks. The ban will stay in place until burn restrictions change.

More information at: https://novascotia.ca/burnsafe/

Travel and activity ban in forests

  • No hiking, camping, fishing, or the use of vehicles in the woods is permitted. You can still access beaches and provincial and municipal parks, but the trail systems are off limits. CAMPING IS ONLY PERMITTED IN CAMPGROUNDS
  • The restrictions apply to Crown and private land. Private landowners can use their own properties, but cannot host others to use the wooded areas of their properties.
  • The restrictions are in place until JUNE 25 or until conditions allow them to be lifted

Wooded areas of municipal parks and all municipal trails are now closed.

Parks such as Shubie Park, Point Pleasant Park, and Admiral Cove Park but non-wooded areas of municipal parks, such as greenspaces, playgrounds, sports fields, and ball diamonds are open. Examples of non-wooded parks are the Halifax Common and Sullivan’s Pond. 

For parks that have both wooded and non-wooded areas, the wooded areas are closed and the non-wooded areas are open. For example, Fort Needham Memorial Park where the monument, playground and sports field are located will stay open but the wooded section of that park is closed.

Tim Bousquet is the editor and publisher of the Halifax Examiner. Twitter @Tim_Bousquet Mastodon

Yvette d’Entremont is a bilingual (English/French) journalist and editor who enjoys covering health, science, research, and education.

Jennifer Henderson is a freelance journalist and retired CBC News reporter.

Philip Moscovitch is a freelance writer, audio producer, fiction writer, and editor of Write Magazine.

Suzanne Rent is a writer, editor, and researcher. You can follow her on Twitter @Suzanne_Rent and on Mastodon

Zane Woodford is the Halifax Examiner’s municipal reporter. He covers Halifax City Hall and contributes to our ongoing PRICED OUT housing series. Twitter @zwoodford

Mastodon