The collapsed bridge between the Clyde River and Port Clyde in Nova Scotia smoulders in this Wednesday, May 31, 2023 handout photo. As an unprecedented string of wildfires in Nova Scotia continued to burn out of control Wednesday, thousands of residents forced to flee their homes spent a fourth day wondering what their neighbourhoods will look like when they return home.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Communications Nova Scotia **MANDATORY CREDIT**
HALIFAX – In the days since he lost his home in the wildfires that swept through his Halifax-area subdivision, Dwayne Melnick has had a mission to focus on: find a place to stay. Speak to insurance companies and contractors. Begin making a list of belongings for insurance purposes.
Focusing, he said, helps him keep moving forward.
“I’m retired military of a long career, so I’m able to focus on the mission,” he said in a phone interview. “But at at a certain point the emotions take over as well. So it comes and goes.”
Officials said Sunday the wildfire that tore through the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained. Nova Scotia’s natural resources department said the Tantallon fire northwest of the provincial capital’s downtown is now under control, meaning it is not expected to grow but is not yet out.
But for the thousands of residents who were forced from their homes, uncertainty and many questions remain.
Melnick says he has no doubt that he wants to rebuilt his home, but he’s not sure how long it will take.
“I know there has to be a lot of environmental procedures to take place first before they can even look at breaking ground or tearing down the old foundation,” he said. “But like I said, I got an early jump on things just to stay focused.”
While the 49-year-old was able to safely leave his Hammond Plains-area home along with his wife and two dogs, he’s still hoping for good news about their cat, Brooklyn, who was outside when the fire came and remains missing.
The blaze broke out a week ago, forcing 16,000 people from their suburban homes and destroying some 200 structures, including 151 homes.
Affected residents anxiously lined up on Sunday at a sports facility that has been turned into a resource centre, with many hoping for news or photos of their homes.
Neighbours hugged and chatted outside the doors. Some left with relieved smiles; others in tears.
Nicole Boudreau, a resident of the Hammonds Plains area, was among those eager for information.
“We don’t really know anything right now, to be honest,” she said. “We think our house is still standing. We haven’t heard that it’s not.”
Boudreau, whose household includes two children and her 89-year-old mother, said she’s grateful everyone got out safely but is “very anxious to know what the next step is.”
Jackie Norrie, another resident, said she also believes her home is still standing, based on aerial photos and from what she’s heard from her neighbours.
She said that while people whose residences have been badly damaged or destroyed have been sent photos or allowed to view them through the windows on a bus tour, other residents are struggling to get information about their properties.
The city told residents on Saturday it could take up to 14 days for residents of the hardest-hit areas to be allowed back. Officials have said firefighters need to ensure all hot spots are extinguished, and infrastructure such as roads and electrical grids need to be checked.
Norrie said she understands that residents can’t go back immediately, but she just wants to know her home is safe.
“Pictures, video, anything. We just want to know,” she said.
Rick Chapman, a resident of Westwood Hills, said he was relieved to learn that his house hadn’t sustained any damage.
“It’s exactly the way we left it, thank God.”
He said he’s hoping residents will be able to go home “sooner rather than later” now that the fire is contained.
While’s he’s feeling mentally fine, and his wife is feeling “80 per cent fine,” it’s clear the week has taken a toll.
“She had a little breakdown inside today,” he said of his wife. “It’s to be expected. I haven’t had my breakdown yet. But I will.”
In Shelburne County, meanwhile, the Barrington Lake wildfire – the largest in the province’s history – continues to burn out of control.
The blaze covered 250 square kilometres as of Sunday morning and has destroyed at least 50 homes and cottages.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2023.
