A forest fire, believed to be started by hikers, that broke out Friday (Aug. 14) near Broad River is now largely contained.<\/p>\n
Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection with the Department of Lands and Forestry, says the fire consumed 32 hectares over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He says 20 staff and six volunteers from local fire departments were involved in knocking the fire down. The remote location had to be accessed using helicopters and ATVs. The only structure in the area was a cabin, which managed to escape any damage.<\/p>\n
Cabin owner Suzanne Verge says she believes the fire was started on their property by some hikers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey left a note saying they came down the path and it got dark and they decided to stay by the water and made a fire,\u201d Verge said. \u201cI don\u2019t know. Anyone using common sense wouldn\u2019t have started a fire, as dry as it is because it\u2019s going to burn down in to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verge is thankful the fire didn\u2019t destroy their cabin but is baffled by the hikers' actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, they left a note with five dollars saying here\u2019s five dollars for the wood,\" she said. \"But, you dingbat, why did you start a fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Tinlgey says the fire is now 66 per cent contained.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that means, crews on the ground have most of it wrapped with hose and they\u2019re just continuing to contain that outside perimeter, trying to limit the growth,\u201d Tingley said.<\/p>\n
He says crews don\u2019t anticipate the fire will get any larger but they\u2019re aware the forecast is calling for temperatures to rise later in the week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere it\u2019s burning so deep, our focus is on containing that outside perimeter so we do limit the growth,\u201d Tiingley said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s hearing from the crews the fire is burning at least a foot deep.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it get\u2019s this dry it\u2019s pretty challenging,\u201d Tingley said. \u201cThey have to spend that much longer digging things up, putting water on it, digging it up again.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says those crews will be on site for the next few days to ensure the fire is fully out. The fire is the largest of eight that were burning in the province last week.<\/p>\n
A dry hot summer has increased the fire risk for most of Nova Scotia and lead to burn bans being put in place. Tingley says the heavy rain that fell in parts of the province last week did provide some relief, but not for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the areas where we really, really needed it, got only light amounts,\u201d Tingley said.<\/p>\n
He recommends people check the Nova Scotia burn safe website<\/a> every day to learn whether or not it is safe to have a campfire.<\/p>\n