Some residents displaced by Halifax-area wildfire allowed to return home

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Crews battling a 950-hectare wildfire in the Halifax area say lower temperatures and higher humidity on Friday were favourable for firefighting, as some residents were told they were allowed to go home.

"Today has been a pretty good day," Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Deputy Chief David Meldrum told reporters in an update at 5 p.m. on Friday."

He said the "weather is giving us an ability to get on some fires here and dig some fires out."

Some residents who were forced from their homes were were notified via emergency alert Friday afternoon they could go back.

Meldrum said homes in those areas were not damaged by the wildfires. He said people were told to leave that area initially as a safety precaution.

The alert stated there was a "partial evacuation rescind" for Lucasville Road, St. George Boulevard and the Stillwater Lake area. Specifically for Lucasville Road, the change applies from Sackville Drive to Hammonds Plains Road and the areas surrounding, including Timber Trails. It applies to south of Hammonds Plains Road to St. George Boulevard, as well as the Stillwater Lake area south of Pine Tree Crescent. Details on exact locations can be found here.

David Steeves, a technician of forest resources with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, said the wildfire grew to 950 hectares from 837 hectares on Thursday.

"We were able to keep it at 950 hectares from the sheer work of the firefighters in the field," Steeves said in the 5 p.m. update on Friday.

Steeves said containment was still at 50 per cent following a tough day of flare-ups Thursday at the wildfire that spans swaths of Upper Tantallon, Hammonds Plains and Pockwock, along with other fires that cropped up in the municipality.

Steeves said a new fire started in the Exhibition Park area on Friday and that three aircraft were headed there. He said a fire that cropped up on Farmers Dairy Lane earlier in the week is contained at four hectares.

On Friday, residents whose homes had been damaged or destroyed the wildfire that continues to burn outside Halifax were given the chance to see their properties.

In a news briefing Friday at 3 p.m., Premier Tim Houston acknowledged the people who lost their homes.

"If the news is the worst-case scenario, I am so sorry," Houston said. "And for those waiting for information as to when you can get in your home, hopefully that's getting close. Rain would help."