Halifax-area residents to view damaged homes as wildfire continues to burn
CBC
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Residents whose homes have been damaged or destroyed in a wildfire that continues to burn outside Halifax will get the chance to see their properties today on a bus tour of the affected areas.
In an email sent to the affected residents by the Halifax Regional Municipality's emergency management office shortly after 8 p.m. AT Thursday, officials said the tour of some 200 damaged and destroyed homes will leave from the Canada Games Centre in Halifax at 11 a.m.
"Unfortunately, you will not be able to leave the bus to walk around your property," it said.
The email, which was provided to CBC News by a resident who lost their home, said staff will be on hand at the Canada Games Centre after the tour to answer questions.
Spotty showers on Friday morning were a welcomed reprieve from the hot and dry conditions that have plagued the region since the wildfire broke out in the Westwood Hills subdivision in Upper Tantallon mid-Sunday afternoon.
The 837-hectare blaze that spans swaths of Upper Tantallon, Hammonds Plains and Pockwock continues to burn and was 50 per cent contained on Thursday.
As temperatures soared into the 30s on Thursday, new fires broke out across the Halifax area, including at the Waegwoltic Club in south-end Halifax and in wooded areas off Prospect Road and Perrin Drive in Waverley.
CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said scattered showers are expected to become widespread across the province Friday afternoon and evening. On Saturday, up to 40 millimetres of rain is expected in some areas.
WATCH | Breaking the burn ban in Halifax could result in tickets
Earlier on Thursday, Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said people continued to break the province's ban on burning, noting someone was caught using a propane torch to burn leaves and another person was starting a bonfire.
"This is a clear violation of the no-stupid policy," Savage said in an update with reporters at 3 p.m. Thursday.