Firefighters in western Nova Scotia are making progress on containing this season’s largest wildfire, but officials say a lack of rain in the forecast means the Long Lake fire will keep burning for some time.
Natural Resources Department spokesman Jim Rudderham told a briefing that firefighters continue to make advances on the 84-square-kilometre fire south of Bridgetown, N.S.
And he confirmed it had not grown since Tuesday, even though it is still considered out of control more than three weeks after it started.
The fire destroyed 20 homes late last month and it forced about 1,000 people to evacuate their neighbourhoods, though most of those living on the eastern side of the fire were allowed to return on Wednesday.
On another front, provincial fire coordinator Dave Rockwood provided details about efforts to save homes in the West Dalhousie area, where the fire has done the most damage.
He says it allowed firefighters to save 85 out of 88 homes.
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Rockwood confirmed officials had rolled out the largest structure protection plan in the province’s history, which included moving combustible materials away from homes, pumping water from nearby lakes and streams and using sprinklers to create protective “moisture bubbles.”
He says those measures were initiated along a line that stretched for about 10 kilometres, a firefighting tactic never before attempted at that scale in Nova Scotia.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.
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