N.S. premier asks for urgent help from federal government as wildfires continue to burn out of control
CTV
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is asking for urgent help as wildfires continue to burn out of control in his province.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is asking for urgent help as wildfires continue to burn out of control in his province.
In a news conference Wednesday, Houston said he has reached out to Ottawa and other provinces for all available assistance.
“The list of asks is significant, we know that. But we’ve made the ask,” Houston said.
“It’s time to pitch in with whatever you have… Nova Scotia needs the help right now.”
In a letter to the prime minister, Houston said nearly 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and tens of thousands of hectares of land is on fire.
“With only dry weather conditions in the forecast for the remainder of the week, Nova Scotia is a province in crisis,” reads the letter.
Nova Scotia has already received supplies and assistance from Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Houston says the province has asked for the Coast Guard to be deployed to Shelburne County. Additionally, 17 firefighters from New York and New Hampshire will start work on Saturday and the 20-member Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) firefighting crew that was assisting with the Northwest Territories wildfires will return late Wednesday night and begin work in Nova Scotia Thursday.
