Evacuation order lifted for Porters Lake area as brush fire is now under control

Porters Lake residents can return home after being forced to leave as firefighters battled a large brush fire in the area for the second day.

The fire is now under control and is considered 60 per cent contained, according to the Department of Lands and Forestry.

More than 500 homes were evacuated on Saturday as crews battled the nearby fire, forcing 1,000 people from their homes.

Area councillor David Hendsbee said Lands and Forestry firefighters are still in the area dousing hotspots and will continue to watch the area overnight. 

"The firefighters were able to make significant progress today because the winds died down and with that, we feel confident enough that there's not much of a risk involved," he said. 

"We are letting people in the area go home but there will still be patrols in the area to watch all over them."

In a media update at 1 p.m. AT, Department of Lands and Forestry spokesperson Dave Steeves said the fire had reached about 50 hectares.

Steeves said 30 Lands and Forestry firefighters were the ground fighting the fire through rough and rocky terrain alongside 45 Halifax Fire members on Sunday.

He said no structures or homes have been destroyed so far.

Since the brush fire was a "dirty burn," Steeves said that brings an extra challenge. These types of fires "hopscotch" through the woods, leaving some areas untouched that could easily ignite again.

Erica Fleck, emergency management chief with Halifax Fire, said during the update they had evacuated 523 homes along West Porters Lake Road to Marjorie Drive.

The Red Cross confirmed Sunday they had not yet been asked to step in to support evacuees, as everyone had been able to stay with family or friends Saturday night.

Evacuees deal with 'gut-wrenching' uncertainty

Grace and Charles Whitford were some of the first residents asked to leave Saturday afternoon as part of the evacuation order for about 170 homes along West Porters Lake Road.

"It was scary," Grace said Sunday morning when the couple stopped into the comfort centre for evacuees in Lake Echo.

The Lake Echo Community Centre on Highway 7 has been set up as a place for evacuees to drop in for a hot drink, charge their devices and stay safe.

It closed overnight but was to reopen at 8 .a.m. local time on Sunday for residents to check in again and receive updates on the fire.

Charles first saw smoke around 12:30 p.m. AT Saturday, and within 20 minutes or so RCMP were knocking on their door to tell them they had to leave right away.

Luckily, the Whitfords had their papers and other important documents packed so they just had to throw some things together and get their cats into travel cages.

Charles said dealing with the uncertainty of where the fire is, and whether it will leave their home standing, is "gut wrenching."

"It's a horrible feeling. You're just shaking all over," Grace said.

The Whitfords were able to stay at their daughter's place Saturday night.

Although Charles hasn't been able to see his property yet, he's sure they've lost much of the acreage behind their house, where they source all their wood for heating it.

"We're going to start buying wood I guess, if the house is still there," Charles said.

'There has been a lot of pain'

Julia Cameron and her family knew that the fire was headed in their direction, so they were packing up their camper Saturday afternoon when firefighters came along the Old Mineville Road.

They told them to go, and "go quickly," she said outside the Lake Echo comfort centre Sunday.

Her family stayed in their camper overnight around Lawrencetown Beach, while friends dropped off some blankets for them.

As a tight-knit rural community, Cameron said neighbours will "just step up" for each other, and she's already had offers to stay at other houses.

Nova Scotia has been "hit so hard" in the last month or two, Cameron said, not only with COVID-19 but with the mass shooting in April followed by the loss of five military members when a Cyclone went down, and then Capt. Jenn Casey's death in last week's Snowbirds crash.

"There has been a lot of pain, but people are really resilient and they're coming together to support each other," Cameron said.

Her home is in the middle of the burn zone, but Cameron said she hasn't heard yet whether the house has been directly damaged.

But at the end of the day, Cameron said her family and pets are safe — "and everything else really doesn't matter."

Although the cause of the blaze is not yet known, Cameron and the Whitfords are concerned it might have begun from someone illegally using a backyard fire under the province-wide burn ban.

"It's very frustrating because it causes so much disruption," Cameron said. "It's really affected the Porters Lake community."

Nova Scotia's Environment Minister Iain Rankin said brush fires are often caused by humans, especially when the weather is hot and humid. 

"There are no fires permitted at all right now at any region so we want to make sure that Nova Scotians know that they are taking a risk," Rankin said. "It puts the safety of their neighbours at risk when they do violate the provincial burn ban."

He said burn ban notices are updated on the province's website every day at 2 p.m. and residents should check before they burn.

Residents reminded of past fires: councillor

Hendsbee, the area's councillor, said residents are "pretty anxious," especially those who have memories of the dramatic fire in June 2008 that burned about 1,925 hectares through a wooded area between Lake Echo and Porters Lake.

"But they're well aware that the firefighters are here to protect them, and I hope that everybody follows the protocols and the orders that are requested," he said.

Ground search and rescue teams were also back on Sunday, escorting residents who needed to retrieve their pets in and out of the fire zone.

All crews were pulled from actively fighting the fire around 9 p.m. Saturday, which is the usual practice, but Steeves said the frost overnight was helpful and any fire growth was minimal.

Halifax Fire district Chief Brad Connors said early Sunday morning they had two Halifax Fire crews patrolling the area all night. One of their drones were also in the air mapping "various hot spots" throughout the night.

Roads around the fire still closed

Highway 107 remains closed between Exit 18 and Exit 20, while local roads in the West Porters Lake area were also still blocked Sunday. The area is expected to reopen at 9 p.m. local time Sunday.

The province has said Lands and Forestry staff first responded to the brush fire, which began in the area just north of Highway 107, around 12:30 p.m. AT on Saturday.

The fire then hopped across Highway 107 and headed south toward the Atlantic coast.