Saturday 2 May 2009

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.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Fish Whisperer said...

Sorry to here about the fire. I wonder if fires affect fishing/fish?

2 May 2009 at 23:10  
Blogger Steve Dobson said...

Hi Fish Whisperer,

It was on the other side of the harbour from where I live but the smoke covered the whole city.

I think there is a such a dramatic and sudden change to the local ecosystem after a fire that it must affect the streams flowing through the fire zone.
I suspect there is a change in the pH for a while and the temperature of the water without the shady,covering brush on the banks probably rises.
Without the buffer of growing things, the erosion of the banks must increase and the general habitat for bugs and invertebrates of all kinds must be altered as well.

My guess is it is a negative for a while but swings back to the positive as the rejuvenation begins.
Nature reclaims burnt over areas amazingly quickly by her sense of time.
By our sense of time, it will be pretty ugly for twenty years or so.

cheers,
Steve

2 May 2009 at 23:42  
Blogger Fish Whisperer said...

Steve, I think you are dead on with that. Nice take on the whole cycle of life.
Cheers

4 May 2009 at 12:36  
Blogger MIZLAN DARKARTCASTER said...

hope forest fire will not effect the nature

5 May 2009 at 17:44  
Blogger Steve Dobson said...

Hi Mizlan,

I'll try to get out the next time we have nice days and take a few pictures. Then do the same a few months from now. That should tell us something.

Cheers,
Steve

6 May 2009 at 02:55  

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