Nova Scotia firefighters wary of potential wind shifts as hurricane to pass Friday

WEST DALHOUSIE – Firefighting officials in Nova Scotia are keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Erin, which is expected to pass well offshore but bring strong wind gusts to parts of the province on Friday.

In a briefing on Thursday, officials said there were three wildfires burning in the province, one of which remained out of control — the Long Lake wildfire in the Annapolis Valley, which at just over 32 square kilometres is the province’s largest and close to homes in the community of West Dalhousie.

“We are watching the storm, which is tracking south of the province starting tomorrow and through the weekend,” said Scott Tingley with the Department of Natural Resources. “We are expecting wind shifts and wind increases as the storm passes. That’s a big focus of the crews on the fire.”

Tingley said command teams on the ground will assess the weather information and direct firefighters to areas where it’s safest to battle the flames. “The main thing is firefighting safety,” he said. “The information also guides them on where to put resources … and to plan and mitigate fire growth in the direction that the wind is going to push it.”

Jim Rudderham, a director with the department, said crews will move out of areas in the event that wind shifts make conditions unsafe.

“It would depend on how major the wind shift was,” Rudderham said. “If it’s really dangerous they know enough to get themselves out.”

Meanwhile, crews were busy Thursday building breaks on the north edge of the Long Lake fire. Officials said air tankers and helicopters were also helping suppress the flames along with 22 firefighters from Ontario, 52 from the Department of Natural Resources, 44 volunteer firefighters and 37 pieces of heavy equipment.

Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick are also continuing to battle active wildfires. 

In Newfoundland, the 107-square-kilometre wildfire near Kingston in Conception Bay North continued to burn out of control on Thursday, although officials said the blaze was showing signs of slowing in intensity. On Wednesday, the province announced the Martin Lake fire in the central part of the province had been downgraded to being held, as was the Paddy’s Pond Fire outside St. John’s, N.L.

The federal government also announced Thursday that it would match every dollar donated to the Canadian Red Cross appeal for wildfire relief in the province. “Donation matching will be open for 30 days, retroactive to when the appeal first opened on Aug. 14,” the government said in a news release.

In New Brunswick, five wildfires remained out of control as of Thursday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.