Fire dangers spark concern in Sherbrooke area, some residents call for fireworks ban
Fire dangers spark concern in Sherbrooke area
Some residents call for fireworks ban
ST. MARY’S — Neil Black is one of several St. Mary’s residents suggesting a ban on fireworks on Canada Day (July 1), due to potential safety concerns.
With the probability of hotter and drier weather in the coming weeks, coupled with the potential of a rogue spark from such light shows, they argue that the chances of setting off a wildfire are just too high.
Black, an advocate for a province-wide ban on the sale and use of fireworks during the wildfire season, told The Journal he understands that local residents and visitors sometimes like to party and enjoy weekends and vacations in the area but, when partying combines with fire or fireworks, the scene may be set for a devastating blaze.
He said he also worries about what he believes is an increase in illegal dumping on back roads since the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s transfer station stopped accepting construction and demolition (C&D) materials, and how that could fuel a wildfire in those highly wooded areas.
“The outcome over this aggressive fire season could be catastrophic for the county and province,” Black wrote in a recent letter to Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow.
The Journal reached out to municipal officials regarding plans for July 1 weekend celebrations.
“The municipality is very excited about offering our annual Canada Day activities. Fireworks are part of the Canada Day celebration; the municipality stays very aware of fire and safety conditions,” Warden Greg Wier said.
The warden added residents can be confident that the municipality plans summer fireworks with great care, including careful monitoring of the province’s online BurnSafe map, which indicates daily burn restrictions across the province.
Wier said the municipality will have fire department staff and equipment on hand for the St. Mary’s show.
“We use residential fireworks instead of commercial fireworks to reduce risks,” he explained, adding that “the persons running the fireworks show are highly experienced.”
In an email interview with The Journal, Brian Hallett – former chief of the Sherbrooke Volunteer Fire Department – indicated, “Until the municipality has a by-law in place, people can and will use fireworks.”
He cautioned that anyone using fireworks should be aware that they “burn very hot.”
“Combine this with readily available fuel and the potential for a fire starting is very real. We ask that anyone who is planning on having a fireworks display, do so with this in mind. Don't light up the night with a wild land fire by using fireworks near woodlands,” Hallett added.
Ready to respond to wildfires
All departments in the municipality have training in fighting wildfires, which is provided by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR). Volunteer departments take direction from DNRR staff on all wild land fires.
“Upon arrival at a woods fire, the volunteer fire department will do an assessment of the fire and start suppression of this fire as needed,” Hallett explained. “Volunteer departments will notify the local DNRR office as soon as their on-scene assessment is complete.”
He noted that his Sherbrooke department is “ready and equipped to do fire suppression on wild land fires.”
Hallett said that there are mutual aid agreements in place and help is readily available should the need arise.
Fines increase
Earlier this spring, in anticipation of the upcoming wildfire season, Premier Tim Houston announced that people who light a fire outside of permitted burning times in the province will be fined $25,000. That increase, which came into effect May 16, will be in place until the end of wildfire season.
Daily burn bans are in place from March 15 to Oct. 15, with burning not permitted anywhere in the province from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“What a wonderful action by our provincial government, premier and cabinet,” Black wrote in his letter to Morrow regarding the fine hike. “When this hard call needed to be made, it was made; just that simple.”
In a press release, Houston said the increase in fines during wildfire season was implemented with the intent to make people think before violating daily burn restrictions.
Causes, areas of concern
Officials explained that the critical elements that produce extreme fire behavior are low relative humidity, strong surface wind, unstable air and drought.
This spring, the Maritime Provinces have experienced near normal precipitation, when compared to climate averages from 1981 to 2010. Although March had above average precipitation, April was below average and May finished drier than average. If June follows that trend, it could allow for a level of dryness that could be ripe for fire outbreaks.
According to the DNRR, firefighters responded to 41 reported wildfires – as of May 16 – compared to 138 in the same timeframe last year.
However, despite the lower number of fires thus far, the conditions being not quite as dry as last year and the dangers mostly remaining in the low-to-moderate range, department officials said it can take only a couple of hot, dry and windy days to quickly raise the danger of fire risks.
“The bigger risk this year is the western end of the province, between Halifax and Yarmouth. Right now, the fire index is low for Guysborough,” Scott Tingley, DNRR manager of forest protection based in Shubenacadie, told The Journal.
In 2023, the Barrington Lake, Shelburne County wildfire was the largest recorded in Nova Scotia history, with 23,379 hectares destroyed, along with 60 homes. The Upper Tantallon/Hammonds Plains wildfire burned 969 hectares, while 200 homes and buildings were destroyed amounting to millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
Thousands of residents were displaced as a result of the two fires.
When the Barrington fire began on May 26 last year followed by the Tantallon fire on May 28, Tingley said the DNRR was already well aware of the risk.
“We had seen the conditions building. It had been a particularly dry spring,” he shared.
A Shelburne area man was charged with causing the Shelburne County fire, while a brush fire in the Westwood neighbourhood is suspected to be the most likely cause of the fire in the Tantallon area, although no criminal charges were filed in that incident due to insufficient findings.
When post-tropical storm Fiona blew through the province in 2022, it left a lot of trees on the ground, which are now extremely dry.
Weather is a huge risk factor when it comes to a potential wildfire, with the level of humidity in the air, the dryness of fuels such as fallen timber, the amount of wind and temperature all playing a part in creating favorable conditions for a wildfire.
When it comes to other wildfire causes, burn barrels tip over; dry brush easily ignites and even rot is fuel.
“ATVs can also be the cause of a fire, when grass builds up on hot exhausts and, unfortunately, there is also arson,” said Tingley.
How a fire burns can depend on the type of forest in an area: a general softwood forest, such as spruce, is more likely to ignite, while birch and maple are less likely to do so.
Wind direction, precipitation and relative humidity also play a part in how a fire burns. Wildfires also travel uphill while burning.
As for why burning is not allowed in the morning, one of the reasons, Tingley shared, “is that we are not sure of what the day will bring; it may get hotter and be dry and windy as the day goes on.
“Dryness can be a process building up throughout the day, and at night temperatures fall and winds tend to subside.”
Tingley advised residents to be careful, and follow the burn restrictions on the fire map updated at 2 p.m.each day at www.novascotia.ca/burnsafe, or go to firestart.ca for the burn map and tips on how to prevent fires and what people can do around their homes and cottages to mitigate the risk of a fire starting, such as keeping grass short.
Hallett reminded people to remember that “all fires start small; be safe and wait.”
He added, “The best advice I can give is for everyone to avoid unnecessary burning of brush until fall or winter. Most wildland fires are human caused. The easiest fire to control is the one not started.”
Joanne Jordan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Guysborough Journal
