Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters Thursday that a $25,000 fine for violating burn restrictions is about preventing more wildfires. (Nova Scotia Government)

With wildfires breaking out in western Canada, Nova Scotia has increased the fine for violating the daily burn restrictions to $25,000.

From March 15 to Oct. 15, daily burn restrictions are in place across the province to help prevent wildfires.

Burning is not permitted anywhere between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. because that is when the wildfire risk is greatest.

Premier Tim Houston told reporters on Thursday that the increased fine is to help prevent the wildfires from happening in the first place. The basic fine for violating burn restrictions is $237.50. The larger fine is in place until the end of wildfire season.

“We encourage all Nova Scotians to check before you burn,” Houston said. “Check the website, reach out to find out what’s the situation in your community. … With the weather changing, the risk increases and we know the experience that we had in this province last year and we are seeing what is happening across the country, significant forest fires across the country. We should do what we can to prepare and encourage prevention.”

Last spring, wildfires in southwestern Nova Scotia and in the Halifax area consumed more than 25,000 hectares and destroyed 200 homes. 

Houston said people should check the province’s BurnSafe map every day to check the restrictions in their area.

The daily burn restrictions also now apply to campgrounds. Open fires like campfires are permitted only after 2 p.m. when the BurnSafe map is green or after 7 p.m. when the map is yellow. Those are the same standards for open fires in people’s backyards.

The province increased the fine to $25,000 last year when the Nova Scotia wildfires were still burning. Houston said Thursday he’s confident that if somebody violates the burning restrictions, they will be fined.

“So the enforcement is there. We’re serious about preparation, we’re serious about prevention. I would personally push for if anyone ignores the burn ban, I want them charged for sure.”

So far this year, crews have responded to 41 wildfires across the province that have burned about 39 hectares.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Barb Hill-Taylor of East Port L’Hebert was at a community wildfire preparedness day on Tuesday, organized by Parks Canada. (Rick Conrad)

When last spring’s wildfires were consuming thousands of hectares around Barrington in southwestern Nova Scotia, Barb Hill-Taylor was about 90 kilometres away at her home in East Port L’Hebert.

“We have only one exit from our peninsula,” she said Tuesday, “and I was concerned about that and also the closeness of the Barrington fire, you could see the plume.”

The fires didn’t get close enough to threaten Hill-Taylor’s house, but they still left a lasting impression. Even though her house is made of concrete with a metal roof, she was still concerned enough that after it was all over, she and her neighbours asked the province’s wildfire prevention officer to visit their area. The officer gave her and her neighbours tips on how to make their properties more wildfire resilient.

“It was great. I learned a lot. We spent about two hours driving around the peninsulas and she would point out things that were issues for people to look at. It was a really worthwhile exercise. The snag is that people have to act on the recommendations now and cut trees. It’s difficult because you spend a lot of time doing your landscaping.”

Hill-Taylor was one of the local residents at Kejimkujik National Park Seaside in Port Joli on Tuesday for a wildfire community preparedness day.

Organized by Parks Canada, Tuesday’s event also included officials from Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables and the Liverpool Fire Department.

They were there to educate people on how to make their property a little safer from fires. Parks Canada officials also laid out many of the measures they have taken at the park to help mitigate the spread of wildfires, which mirrored the things people can do on their own properties.

The fires that started in the Barrington Lake area last May eventually burned more than 23,000 hectares. So far this year, Nova Scotia crews have responded to 27 wildfires around the province.

Cory Isenor, a forestry resource technician with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, says it’s a lot about common sense.

“It’s looking at the stuff around your home and trying to eliminate anything that could catch fire.”

Isenor advises homeowners to keep grass trimmed and short around your foundations, clean up any brush or leaves from around your home, make sure your decks, patios, gutters and roof are free of leaf and yard waste, and cut back any trees, especially if they’re evergreens, from around your home. He said it’s also important to make sure stacks of firewood are stored as far away from your house as possible.

Officials discussed which building materials are more prone to igniting in case of an outdoor fire. Metal roofing and concrete structures are best. But using non-combustible and fire-rated products can also help.

“The big thing is the distances from the combustible materials around your home,” Isenor said in an interview. “And the biggest thing is what we call the intermediate zone which is touching your house, a couple of metres right around your home, that you may have flower beds or dried wood, fences, anything that could catch and then transfer that over to your home. 

“You want to try to remove any combustible material in that immediate zone: birch bark mulch, firewood piles. Decks are always an area of concern.”

And Isenor said it’s also important, in the event of a wildfire, for people to be ready to shelter in place for 72 hours or to evacuate immediately.

Local resident Nancy Perry said she and her husband already cut back many of the trees on their property after last year’s fires. But she said she came to the event to be better prepared, just in case. 

“I was just interested to find out how we could make some changes at our property to be a little safer if we ever get another fire.”

The wildfire preparedness day was part of FireSmart Canada’s National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, which was observed on Saturday. Parks Canada officials recommended on Tuesday that people check out the FireSmart Canada website for more tips and a self-assessment of how to protect your home.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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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.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com