**** HRM Media Release
Municipal fires and impacts update – May 30, 8:45 p.m.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising residents of the following updates and impacts to municipal services as a result of the ongoing fires.
Residents are strongly encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel due to ongoing fires in the region.
Additionally, residents are reminded that the use of all off-highway vehicles is banned within the limits of the Halifax Regional Municipality while the State of Local Emergency is in effect. First responder resources are currently stretched very thin as they battle the fires and this ban will ensure resources are not redirected to deal with other incidents.
New evacuation order
An additional mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the following streets:
- Olive Street
- Bernard Street
- Estelle Street
- Lewis Street
- Farmers Dairy
- Giles Drive
- Bluewater Road
- Topsail Court
- Command Court
- Gary Martin Drive
- Lasalle Court
- Castlestone Drive
- Hammonds Plains Road from the intersection of Larry Uteck and Giles drives
Comfort centres
Comfort centre details are as follows:
- LeBrun Recreation Centre | 36 Holland Avenue. The comfort centre opened at 7 p.m. today and will remain open until further notice.
- Black Point and Area Community Centre | 8579 St Margarets Bay Road. The comfort centre will reopen at 8 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31.
- Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre | 1583 Beaver Bank Road. The comfort centre will reopen at 9 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31.
Wooded areas of municipal parks closed effective Wednesday, May 31, 8 a.m.
In addition to the Province of Nova Scotia restricting travel and activities in wooded areas, the municipality is closing all wooded areas of municipal parks and all municipal trails effective 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31. Parks such as Shubie Park, Point Pleasant Park and Admiral Cove Park will be fully closed, as they are heavily wooded. However, non-wooded areas of municipal parks, such as greenspaces, playgrounds, sports fields and ball diamonds will remain open for use. Examples of non-wooded parks are the Halifax Common and Sullivan’s Pond.
For parks which have both wooded and non-wooded areas, the wooded areas are closed and the non-wooded areas remain open. An example of this would be Fort Needham Memorial Park where the monument, playground and sports field remain open but the wooded section is closed.
Parking lot closures will be completed as soon as possible, however with many wooded parks across the region this will take time to complete.
Updated fire evacuation zone map
The municipality has updated the map of the fire evacuation areas and the local state of emergency area and outlining the area of significant impact.
All residents and businesses with property in the area of significant impact and in the new fire evacuation area are required to register with 311 via the online form (or by calling 1.800.835.6428) for follow-up when more information becomes available.
Residents are not allowed to return to their homes until they are advised that it is safe to do so by municipal authorities. Residents must remain clear of the fire evacuation area and refrain from filming and taking photos of the fire area, including flying personal drones.
Evacuation information and response
The Canada Games Centre evacuation centre at 26 Thomas Raddall Drive is open until further notice.
Nova Scotia Health’s mobility primary care clinic is hosting a drop-in clinic at the Canada Games Centre. The clinic will reopen at 9 a.m. and will remain open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada and seven major insurance companies and their representatives will be available to speak with affected residents at the Canada Games Centre from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Black Point and Area Community Centre from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 31. Future opportunities to speak with their representatives will be available in the coming days.
Emergency preparation
The municipality has issued a pre-evacuation notice to residents on Viscount Run, starting at the intersection of Spyglass Run up to and including Cloverleaf and Summerwood lanes. Residents in these areas should be prepared to evacuate within 30-minutes of receiving a mandatory notice to evacuate.
Residents in the local state of emergency zone should have a bag-packed as they may have limited time to leave their homes if required to evacuate on short-notice. Residents who are directed to evacuate are advised to bring their pets, important documents and medication with them, as well as supplies for 72 hours.
Evacuation orders are mandatory, which means residents must evacuate in accordance with local authorities, such as police, firefighters and ground search and rescue.
This situation remains fluid; teams are assessing the extent of damage. Further information will be made available to residents as soon as possible.
Solid Waste
Curbside collection of green carts and recycling is cancelled for tomorrow, Wednesday, May 31 in Hammonds Plains, Upper Hammonds Plains, Glen Arbour, White Hills, and Lucasville including Kingswood North. Collection will occur on the next regular green cart and recycling collection day, Wednesday, June 14.
Residents are reminded that collection can begin as early as 7 a.m.
Please visit: halifax.ca/fire or follow @hfxgov on Twitter for all fire updates.
