Forest Fire Threatens City

What a week it has been.
I have mentioned here before that our city is blessed with some of the best urban fishing you can imagine, within minutes of the downtown core. Well, a large bush fire started behind the city in an area known as McIntosh Run.
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-view from Dartmouth-Community Herald Photos
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Two brothers described their narrow escape from the fire as, "one minute we were fishing, the next we saw a wall of flames." They literally had to run for their lives and narrowly escaped the inferno. Fire officials said the fire was moving at 36 meters a minute. Those boys were lucky to survive.
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The fire was a roaring wall of flames, burning woods and homes as it tore towards Halifax Harbour. It started Thursday afternoon and burned all night before the firefighters could contain it. The weather helped a lot when it started to rain Friday morning but what an amazing effort on the part of the pros and volunteers to fight this fire into submission.
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All told, 800 to 1000 hectares of woodland burned, 1,200 people had to be evacuated from the fire’s path, and 8 homes were destroyed.

It could have been caused by anything from a lightning strike to a careless campfire left by fishermen or hikers.

The authorities will doubtless figure it out before too long but be careful out there.

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- It will be a generation before anyone else enjoys the beauty of that little brook known as McIntosh run.

For more pictures of the blaze visit Community Herald Photos.