Crews eye aerial assessment of Shelburne wildfires following days of rain
CBC
Officials are hoping to take to the skies above blazes burning in southwestern Nova Scotia today to get a sense of the status of the largest wildfire in the province's history.
Scott Tingley of the provincial Department of Natural Resources says rain over the last several days has helped with fighting the fire, but it prevented crews from getting an aerial view.
As a result, the fire near Barrington Lake — which covers an area of 24,980 hectares, or about 250 square kilometres — is still considered out of control, but has not grown.
"They want to get up in the air have a look with their eyes," Tingley, the department's director of forest protection, told CBC's Information Morning Nova Scotia.
"And then through the week, as the rain starts to taper off, they'll also want to get up and take advantage of technology like infrared scanning and things like that to help identify hotspots."
An update from the municipalities of Shelburne and Barrington on Monday evening said a fire is still burning at a construction and demolition debris disposal site located Highway 103.
Highway 103 from Exit 27 to Exit 30 remains closed. Crews are inspecting the highway to make sure it is safe, and a notice will be sent when the highway reopens.
Provincial officials are working to assess the status of properties and infrastructure. The municipalities said they anticipate communicating with property owners in the impacted areas this week.
A six-member recovery task force from Alberta has joined crews to support recovery measures.
"Community members should prepare to be in this wildfire situation for an extended period," the email from the municipalities said.
The Roseway Hospital and the Shelburne Community Health Centre — which both closed on May 31 because of the wildfires — will reopen Tuesday.
In a news release on Monday night, the province said most programs and services will be back in operation at Roseway on Tuesday, including the emergency department and outpatient blood collection.
Most inpatients who were forced to leave will be transferred back to Roseway on Tuesday.
Residents will be able to book appointments on Tuesday for non-urgent health care at the Barrington Community Health Clinic, where a mobile clinic will be operating, anytime from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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