Efforts Continue as Forest Fire Stabilizes

The Porters Lake forest fire is now stable with the affected burned area totaling about 1,925 hectares. As crews continue to work on the scene, additional resources are being turned to the cause of the fires across the province the past week.

The Department of Natural Resources has confirmed that the fire in Tantallon and in Porters Lake were man-made. As the lead investigator, the department has the ability to trace burn patterns to their exact place of origin. The investigation is ongoing and details can not be released while charges may be pending. However, the department can confirm that they are making significant progress.

The firefighting efforts were assisted by a water-bomber crew, with three fixed-wing aircrafts from New Brunswick, a water bomber from Newfoundland and Labrador and one from Quebec. The resources were made possible by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement. The agreement, established in the early 1980s, ensures that all provinces and territories will receive help if forest fires becomes too big for them to handle alone.

There have been about 4,000 forest fires in the last decade or so in Nova Scotia, and fixed-wing water-bombers have been called in on less than 10 occasions.

"We have assisted the other provinces with fire crews and equipment many times, and it's reassuring to know that they are also ready to help when we need them," said Department of Natural Resources Minister David Morse. "No single province or territory has all the resources required to deal with a widespread series of fires, and this agreement enables us to use Canada's fire resources to the greatest advantage."

Department of Natural Resources led the firefighting efforts this past weekend with up to 78 firefighers and four pilots from the department on the scene at one time.

Support was also provided by many provincial government departments as well as Halifax Regional Municipality fire and police services as well as RCMP. Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal staff provided traffic control support and communication between water bombers and ground crews. The Emergency Management Office's Joint Emergency Operations Centre was on standby for most of the weekend, while supporting command centre efforts and giving status updates for fires burning throughout the province.

"There are still hot spots we are attending to in the area," said Eric Pick, one of two incident commanders who led the firefighting efforts in the Porters Lake area, alongside Mark Saywood. "There is still a lot of work to do. We won't leave the scene of a fire until we are sure there is no longer any threat of hot spots flaring up and making the fire active again."

For a map of the 1,925 hectare burned area around Porters Lake, visit www.gov.ns.ca/natr/protection/wildfire/images/porters-lake-perimeter-map.jpg .