The Nova Scotia Government has banned all activity in wooded areas across the province.

Premier Tim Houston announced the measures which include all recreational and commercial activity during an update on Tuesday. Houston said some commercial exceptions may be issued, but permission must be granted by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

The province has already issued a full burn ban across Nova Scotia until June 25 and Halifax had banned all off-highway vehicles from their trails.

Houston said six illegal fires were reported Monday night and people need to follow the ban, for everyone’s safety. “Six illegal burns reported just last night is just mind-boggling. So, no burning. For God’s sake, stop burning, stop flicking your cigarette butts out your car window, just stop it. Our resources are stretched incredibly thin right now fighting existing fires,” said Houston.

Manager of Forest Protection with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables Scott Tingley confirmed the fires raging across the province are beyond the department’s capacity. “These fires are beyond our resource capacity and that’s why we’re prioritizing resources and that’s why they remain out of control. That’s why we continue to ask for help and bring in additional resources,” said Tingley. “This is unfortunately, the nature of emergency response.”

Tingley says the province has already had 195 fires burning 13,000 hectares this year. There are currently 13 active wildfires, eight of those started Monday and three are out of control.

The forest fires in Tantallon and Shelburne are having an impact on Queens. As of Tuesday, the fire in neighbouring Shelburne County is still out of control, burning over 10,000 hectares.

Department of Natural Resources and Renewables has dispatched 50 DNRR firefighters and three helicopters to the fire, joined by 40 local volunteer firefighters and two water bombers from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the municipality will be offering the use of the South Shore Regional Airport to the DNRR helicopters. Norman says that would save the helicopters from making the almost 400km round trip to Debert where they currently refuel. A fuel tanker will need to be brought to the site as the fuel used by South Shore Flying Club members isn’t compatible with the water bombing helicopters. DNRR is already using the airport to support and refuel the smaller fire watch prop planes.

Norman says while Queens has been unaffected by fires so far, she is still concerned. “Rivers are at end of August levels,” said Norman. “Lakes are low, woods are dry; exceptionally, exceptionally dry, dry terrain.”

Norman says she’s been getting calls from people requesting the Region close all municipal parks as a precaution. Those are included under the provincial ban and are now off limits. Norman says she agrees with those measures and asks Queens residents to refrain from taking any chances.

“The least spark. The hot exhaust. There’s so much that can trigger a fire with this dryness. I ask that people who smoke, I don’t believe any cars come with ashtrays in them anymore. So perhaps, just keep a bottle of water with a cap on it in your car to put your cigarette butts in,” said Norman.

Provincial officials are warning the smoke from the fires can seriously affect the air quality in surrounding areas. Residents are being told to close windows and doors, especially at night when the cooler air and clear skies allow the smoke to travel further.

While not as serious as an out-of-control fire, several businesses and organizations reported losing their internet connection on Monday, affecting point of sale payments, access to online business software and the ability to communicate to clients through e-mail and social media. The South Shore Regional Centre for Education is also reporting issues with tracking absences through their Powerschool software that could result in a false notification of a student absence. Installation of a new self-registration system at Queens General Hospital also had to be postponed. The internet connection appears to have been restored by later in the day.

The province has also established a text line to help people cope with the stress of the fires.

Nova Scotians can text HOPENS to 393939 to receive supportive text messages that are aimed at helping develop healthy personal coping skills and resiliency.

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