Charges have been laid in last spring’s Barrington Lake wildfire. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
A 22-year-old Shelburne County man has been charged in last year’s historic Barrington Lake wildfire.
Dalton Clark Stewart, of Villagedale, was charged under the Forests Act on Wednesday. He is accused of lighting a fire on private land without permission, failing to take reasonable efforts to prevent the spread of a fire and leaving a fire unattended.
Stewart is scheduled to appear in Shelburne provincial court on March 7.
These are not criminal charges. Police have said they don’t plan to pursue criminal charges in the wildfires. The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables investigated and laid the charges.
In a news release Thursday, the department said it is still investigating the wildfire in Tantallon last spring. It has two years from the date of an offence to lay charges.
The maximum penalties under the Forests Act are a $50,000 fine and/or six months in jail.
The Barrington Lake wildfire began on May 26 and burned 23,379 hectares. It was declared under control on June 13. The Tantallon wildfire began May 28 and burned 969 hectares. It was declared under control June 4. Both fires were extinguished on July 26.
The Barrington Lake fire forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 people and destroyed 60 homes and cottages, as well as 150 other buildings. The Tantallon fire razed 151 homes and forced more than 16,000 residents to flee the area.
The wildfire that spread through Shelburne County was the worst in the province’s recorded history.
Nova Scotia Burn Safe map June 13 23 from NS Burn Safe website
The Nova Scotia Government has lifted the province-wide burn ban and remaining restrictions on travel and activities in the woods as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Burning is still not permitted between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. but may now be allowed after 2 p.m. depending on local conditions.
The province announced the lifting of restrictions shortly after issuing a release stating the Barrington Lake wildfire in Shelburne County is now under control.
The fire grew to a final size of 23,525 hectares (about 235 square kilometres) and is not expected to spread.
The release says, “…firefighters from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR), the Department of National Defence, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the United States are still on the scene doing mop up. Volunteer and municipal firefighters are on call to help.”
It goes on to explain, “Mop up means firefighters start at the perimeter of the fire and advance toward the centre in a grid pattern to systematically extinguish hot spots. Tactics include looking and smelling for smoke, digging up hot spots and dousing them with water. Depending on the size of a fire, mop up can take days or weeks.”
DNNR says helicopters will be flying over wildfires in the next week using infrared technology to help detect hotspots.
The fine for burning illegally remains at $25,000.
A water bomber flies through the smoke of a forest fire in Shelburne County. Photo Communications Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston wants to ensure every bit of available help is coming to fight the largest forest fires in the province’s history.
A letter sent from the Premier’s office to the Prime Minister Wednesday lays out a long list of needs including military personnel and equipment, helicopters, vehicles and temporary housing for firefighters coming from out of province.
An update provided by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables Thursday morning shows approximately 20,000 hectares are burning across 16, the largest wildfire is in Barrington Lake in Shelburne County at 18,173 hectares.
During Thursday’s briefing, Premier Houston said the list of requests included in the letter is not meant to be exhaustive.
He is asking the federal government to inform Nova Scotia of other supports that could be helpful instead of waiting for a request.
In the letter he states, “You know your resources best and know what can help in a situation like this. Given the seriousness, any other resources at the disposal of the Federal Government that we haven’t mentioned but could help, please send. We ask for your common sense and support. If we have used the wrong terminology in any of our asks, or there are issues with the format of the ask, please be proactive and help us assist struggling Nova Scotians as quickly as possible.”
Houston says he learned lessons from Hurricane Fiona in September of 2022 that he doesn’t want to see repeated in this emergency.
“Once we’d kind of been through the urgency of the crisis, in my discussions with the Prime Minister, he looked me in the eye at one point and said the Nova Scotia didn’t fill out the proper forms and that’s why the support hadn’t come as quickly. I of course disagreed with that assessment but suggested that even if that assessment were true, there’s a time to act and there’s a time to get more fulsome paperwork later, and there was a time to act and it was missed,” said Houston.
“So, with that experience in mind I was not willing to leave any room for a repeat when people’s houses were literally burning. So, we fill out the paperwork and we go through the channels but at the same time it’s my hope that the Prime Minister and members of cabinet, members of parliaments recognize that there’s a time for action and the time for action is right now.”
The Premier’s letter also looks ahead for ways the federal government can support Nova Scotia once the fires are out.
The province is looking for early access to federal disaster relief funding through the Disaster Financial Assistance Agreement, and commitments to match Red Cross donations and rebuild critical infrastructure.
Houston also asks for Ottawa to provide a temporary leave benefit to assist people unable to work because of being displaced or firefighters taking time from their jobs.
The Premier said in a normal year Nova Scotia would face fewer than 100 wildfires. This year there have already been 196 and counting.
He said the increase in number and size of the fires has overwhelmed provincial resources well beyond what they are normally prepared to fight.
While thousands of people have been displaced, Houston says the situation could be much worse if not for the bravery and dedication of everyone involved.
“We’ve never faced wildfires like this before and we have them all at the same time. I think the remarkable thing that people should not lose sight of is zero missing people. Zero reported deaths. Zero serious injury. I mean, that says a lot about the response,” said Houston.
Fire crews are fighting a forecast calling for dry conditions and temperatures in the 30-degree Celsius range Thursday.
A reprieve may be on the way as Environment Canada is calling for showers to begin overnight Friday and rain continuing to fall over the weekend through Tuesday.
A team of Nova Scotia firefighters is expected to return from the Northwest Territories to join the effort this weekend.
The province has already received support from other provinces in the form of water bombers from Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick and firefighting personnel from Prince Edward Island.
Another press briefing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon to provide an update on how the firefighting efforts are proceeding.
