Fire rages near Halifax: ‘Their house was already burning’
Posted May 30, 2023 7:09 am.
In today’s Big Story podcast, a wildfire 20 kilometers northwest of Halifax has burned out of control causing chaos. More than 14,000 people have evacuated from their homes, while crews race to close roads behind the evacuees. The fire was noted to be one of the fastest-moving fires to occur in the province, reaching just outside the city in a short time.
Dan Ahlstrand, news director at CityNews 95.7 in Halifax, says firefighters are surprised by how fast the fire moved and the amount of destruction, giving residents limited time to evacuate.
“Lots of people don’t know what’s in front of them. They left with the shirts on their backs. This fire took less than an hour to go from a fire call to the first set of evacuations of a large subdivision in Tantallon,” says Ahlstrand.
A state of emergency has been declared in Halifax, and resources have been deployed from other provinces.
Currently, more than 200 firefighters are digging in to halt the fire where it stands, but a change in the wind could still alter everything.
You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.
You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.
