Two years after bottleneck during wildfire evacuation, Halifax OK’s emergency exit
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HALIFAX – Almost two years after a wildfire devastated a Halifax-area suburb, municipal council has approved a new emergency exit for a subdivision in the neighbourhood where the fire started.
On the afternoon of May 28, 2023, a blaze ignited in Upper Tantallon and spread quickly to engulf about 22 structures in one hour — and 128 homes in the first four hours.
The fire, which was one of many in Nova Scotia that year, eventually forced the evacuation of 16,400 people and destroyed 200 structures — including 151 homes — before being brought under control six days later.
According to a staff report presented to council, many residents of the Westwood Hills subdivision northwest of Halifax were exposed to life-threatening conditions as they got stuck in a traffic bottleneck while fleeing. The report recommends that an emergency-only access road be built to connect the subdivision directly to Highway 103, about 500 metres away.
Nancy Hartling, the councillor representing the district that covers Tantallon, told council Tuesday night that residents in the area “are still very traumatized by these wildfires. This day and every day they live in fear.”
The need for an additional exit is “the hill that they (would) die on,” Hartling told the meeting. “The importance of this staff report and recommendations cannot be overstated.”
The 16 members of council in attendance Tuesday night voted unanimously in favour of building the new road and researching the possibility of a second new route in the same subdivision.
City officials say the new $2.7 million emergency exit will not be completed before next year, meaning it will not be available during this wildfire season.
In the days after the fire started, Halifax quickly created emergency exits in two other Tantallon-area subdivisions.
Brad Anguish, commissioner of operations for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said that exercise resulted in a closer relationship with Nova Scotia’s Department of Public Works.
“When we punched through to the (Highway) 103 at very short notice, the province was very co-operative, and again they’ve been very co-operative and thorough,” Anguish told councillors Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.