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Halifax Wildfires – An Evacuee’s First-Hand View

May 31, 2023

Crier Media has one member on the ground tracking the emerging events of the Halifax Wildfires and the evacuations in place. This is because I am a resident of the area affected, so this is a first-hand view of what the first few days as an evacuee have been like. What the fears are, what has caused stress, and more?  

 

The Evacuation

 

Sunday, 28 May 2023 started as a beautiful, sunny, warm day. Kids were swimming, dogs were playing in the open fields. It was an idyllic day. Then a fire was started in a Halifax subdivision in Tantallon, NS. There is still no confirmed information on how it began, but the one that has been thought to be the most likely is that someone was doing an illegal open-fire burn in their yard of some random items such as tires and brush. 

First, the fire spread incredibly fast. In the time it took to cook a steak supper, the fire spread several kilometers, causing six separate neighborhoods to be evacuated. 

 

That is over 16,000 people being displaced because of human carelessness. 

Evacuation route on Hammonds Plains Rd, Halifax Wildfires

The Halifax Fire Services, every firefighter, including every volunteer firefighter have been working tirelessly for days. They have been forced to battle through thick brush to clear a path to try to contain the fires. While as of 31 May, the fire is still “out of control”, which means there isn’t a complete perimeter manned and ready, they have worked hard to minimize the damage as best they can. Keep in mind it’s a fire of more than 788 hectares.

 

When this is over, they deserve every ounce of applause and respect. Because as major a fire as it has been, with hundreds of homes lost, not one person was killed or seriously injured.  

 

Information Sharing 

It is small, independent journalists who have been making the difference for displaced residents, keeping them informed with up-to-date information, including photos and videos. 

 

There has been one go-to account on social media. It has been tracking all the goings-on with the Halifax wildfire, using reports from boots on the ground via a radio scanner, insiders in the Fire and emergency crews, and private messages from members of the public who have direct info. 

The communication from official channels has followed the old school, with periodic updates from leadership on the scene and political figures. However, in today’s age of social media, real-time information is the norm. In their defence, amassing the information, and confirming it to be valid so as not to cause panic in the public is their goal, while social media is “breaking news” and anyone who has watched breaking news happen knows that the information is always incomplete, and at times somewhat incorrect. The approach to communications and information dissemination by emergency agencies and governments needs to be modernized, as they do not maximize their use of social media to get the message out to the widest area; not everyone affected will have access to the traditional methods of outreach. 

Some residents are beginning to be informed of the status of their homes. More than  250 families (and still counting) have lost their homes. Thousands of others, including myself, await word. When this disaster ends, government and emergency services were excellent in the important step of notifying everyone of the evacuations, and that deserves praise. However, they will need to sit down and review their communications strategies for information sharing during the event.  

I was lucky, I was able to get my family to safety and into temporary accomodations over 20 kms away and have the means to get whatever we needed that wasn’t packed in our 30 minutes to prepare. Others weren’t. Some have had to resort to sleeping in the temporary shelters set up by the Red Cross, others are sleeping in their cars. Almost all are in need of supplies and sundries.

One thing Nova Scotians are is generous. There are several aid stations, and they are so full of supplies, clothing, medicines and food that there is no more room to store them. In the coming months, when the rebuilding commences, the community will rally around those who lost their homes and support them.

There will be hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, but the first responders can’t help that part. What they have done is save every life in the area, and for that, we all owe them our thanks. 

Blain Potvin

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