Halifax, May 29 (IANS) Canada’s Nova Scotia RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) have ordered residents of subdivisions in the Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains area to leave their homes in the face of a fast-moving wildfire, a media report said.
The Westwood Hills subdivision in Upper Tantallon, N.S., was the first to begin an evacuation as the fire consumed at least 10 homes, CBC News reported.
Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency District Chief Rob Hebb said dozens of crews were at the site attempting to control the fire. One helicopter was at the scene and another was on the way, the report said.
Deputy Chief Dave Meldrum said in an update Sunday night that there have been no injuries reported from the fire and described it as “not under control”.
He said firefighters will have a better understanding of the size of the fire on Monday, when Nova Scotia Natural Resources and Renewables will conduct an aerial survey.
Meldrum said people should be prepared to be away from their homes potentially for “an extended period of time”.
“Our firefighters are going to be here for days and days. When this fire is knocked down, there is still a lot of work to be done to dig out any hidden fire in the ground … this will be a prolonged operation and folks should be prepared for that.”
Meldrum said residents need to be vigilant about being fire safe by not doing any outdoor burning and carefully disposing of cigarettes. Domestic brush burning and campfires were banned in most of the province on Sunday, the media outlet reported.
–IANS
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