An aerial photo of the forest fire near Springfield, Nova Scotia (May 25). Photo: NS Department of Lands and Forestry/Twitter
Firefighters returned to action near Springfield in Kings County this morning as a forest fire continues to burn.
The Springfield and District Fire Department received a call reporting the fire yesterday at around noon. Currently there are 31 muncipal fire fighters, 25 Lands and Forestry personnel, one helicopter and one piece of heavy equipment on scene.
The Deparment of Lands and Forest estimates the fire is 120 hectares in size and is primarily in an uninhabited part of Kings county.
Jim Rudderham, Acting Manager of Forest Protection says overnight things cooled down and firefighters were able to make headway this morning.
“They were out there first thing this morning and made progress, with the fire now being considered 40 per cent contained,” said Rudderham.
While progress was made Rudderham did sugest it could be undone by a hot and dry afternoon. This afternoon temperatures are expected to reach a high of 27 degrees Celsius, five degrees warmer than Monday.
Today’s weather does have some positives with Rudderham noting that the increased humidity and lower winds will help contain the spread. However he says the province will remain a high risk for forest fires until we have a few days of sustained rain.
In addition to the fire in Springfield a larger forest fire in Antiogonish is also still underway.
Iain Rankin, Minister of Lands and Forests reminded Nova Scotians that the entire province is under a burn ban as a result of the dry conditions.
“The smallest spark can spread with this wind, almost all fires in this province can be traced back to people so it’s important to observe our warnings,” Rankin said.
In 2016, the province temporarily banned the use of off road vehicles on crown trails in response to dry conditions and the potential risk of them starting fires. Minister Rankin says they have considered it but conditions are not at the level that warrants a ban at this time.
