A rapidly spreading wildfire, fed by strong winds and tinder-dry woods, has damaged or destroyed dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents northwest of Halifax.
Residents fled from the Tantallon area amid thick plumes of smoke Sunday afternoon after the R-C-M-P issued an emergency alert and over the next six hours, another three alerts called for more evacuations as the fire grew.
Halifax Fire district chief Rob Febb had said the wildfire was still out of control by 10 p-m, though there were no reports of injuries.
At 11 p-m, Halifax mayor Mike Savage declared a local state of emergency for the next seven days, saying the move will give the municipality access to emergency funds.
Meanwhile, a wildfire burning out of control in southwestern Nova Scotia nearly doubled in size in a matter of hours on Sunday.
Officials with the province’s Department of Natural Resources say the wildfire spread to an estimated 1,354 hectares by Sunday afternoon, growing from 775 hectares earlier in the day.
They say the Shelburne County fire quote — “escaped containment” on Saturday night around Barrington Lake, about an hour southeast of Yarmouth.
Officials say a growing crew of emergency officials are on the ground, including 35 provincial firefighters, 50 volunteer firefighters, two helicopters, six air tankers from New Brunswick, heavy equipment and an incident management team
Halifax police say they have asked Nova Scotia’s police watchdog to launch an investigation after officers shot and killed a man in Dartmouth on Saturday morning.
Halifax Regional Police say they responded to an incident involving a man with a weapon near a sports field in the area of Micmac Boulevard and Woodland Avenue.
They allege he confronted police with the unspecified weapon as they tried to arrest him and officers fired their weapons.
Police say the man was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The Pictou County Climate Summit is set for Saturday from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
Participating Municipalities include the Towns of New Glasgow, Pictou, Stellarton, Trenton, Westville, and the Municipality of Pictou County.
The Atlantic Infrastructure Management Network is working with Municipalities across all four Atlantic provinces to organize five regional Climate Summits, one of which will be held in Pictou County.
These Climate Summits allow for Municipalities and organizations to work together to identify how communities can better respond to the climate emergency and its specific regional impacts.
Nova Scotia Health’s COVID-19 vaccine outreach clinics will be offering drop-in vaccines this week in a number of communities. Locations include:
Truro Library (ages five +)
754 Prince St., Truro
Thursday, June 1 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Offering eligible doses by age range.
New Glasgow Public Health Office (six months to five years).
Community Health Centre
690 East River Rd., New Glasgow
Wednesday, May 31 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Appointments must be pre-booked.
Visit CanImmunize to register: NS Vaccine Booking Page.
Tatamagouche Fire Hall (ages 12+)
202 Main St., Tatamagouche
Friday, June 2 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Pfizer Bivalent vaccine available.
Drop-in only.
Offering COVID-19 testing and vaccination.
If you are attending an “all ages” clinic (six months+), please note children six months – 11 years will be moved to a separate line (different dose), which you can expect to move quickly.
