Lake George Wildfire Out of Control – Current facts as of Sept 30th, 8AM:
* The Lake George Wildfire was reported by an airplane in a remote area off of a fire road Sunday afternoon, September 28th which was located approximately a kilometre give or take from Aylesford Road.
* Aylesford Firefighters responded and located the fire quickly. They began working the fire by deploying their deck gun and hose-lines via ground, DNR was on site and Berwick & Waterville responded with tankers for assistance.
* Just a short time after establishing water supply and working on site, ground crews were pulled from the woods as aircraft were responding and safety is priority for those on the ground.
* Air support promptly responded on Sunday evening bringing in one contracted helicopter and four NWT water bombers and a spotter plane (bird dog)
* The fire was estimated to be 1 hectare in size on the evening of Sunday.
* There was 7 DNR staff & 22 local firefighters on scene at this time.
* Ground crews remained in the area, there were no evacuations measures in place and no structures at risk at this time.
* The fire was classified as “Being Held” on Sunday evening by DNR officials via X on Monday morning.
* On Monday morning, DNR and Aylesford firefighters responded back to the area and began focusing their attention on fighting the fire by ground for much of the morning and afternoon.
* By morning the fire was estimated to be approximately 2 hectares in size and was still being held.
* There were 17 DNR staff and 8 local firefighters on scene at this time.
* Extreme wind gusts were impacting the valley shortly before noon and into the early and late afternoon hours.
* As conditions changed, this resulted in aircraft being requested to the scene again and Berwick Fire was also requested with a tanker to the scene.
* Alert Ready message was issued for residents in the Lake George area to be prepared to evacuate.
* Fire conditions rapidly intensified by late afternoon forcing fire crews to evacuate from the active fire zone on the fire roads.
* The fire quickly progressed and jumped the Aylesford Road between the Fox Mountain Campground and North River Road.
* The Brooklyn Fire Department (SPU) Structural protection unit was dispatched bringing in sprinkler gear for wildfire structural protection.
* Aylesford Road between Canaan Road and North River Road was closed to all traffic.
* DNR Reported the fire was estimated at 80 hectares in size.
* There were still 17 DNR staff along with Aylesford, Berwick & Brooklyn Fire crews on site.
* Another Alert Ready message was issued for a mandatory evacuation for residents from the southern boundary of Lake George, to the Northern Boundary of Lake George.
* At 555PM Kings County declared a State of Local Emergency for the next 7-days or until the emergency is over, due to the ongoing wildfire in the Lake George to support evacuations.
* The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) established a Reception Centre/Emergency Shelter at the Louis Millett Centre in New Minas.
* The Kings County Emergency Coordination Centre (ECC) was activated and staffed, and the Public Hotline is 902-690-6112
* Additonal aircraft was deployed from Quebec bringing in two 415 water bombers to the scene dropping water alongside the NWT 802 water bombers on Monday evening.
* Firefighters and DNR along with aircraft worked the fire until dusk.
* Two additional alert ready messages were issued for mandatory evacuations for all of Lake George and parts of Aylesford Lake.
* Aylesford Road from Canaan Road to North River Road is closed and North River Road to Old Mill Lane is also closed to all traffic as this is considered the evacuation zone.
* Many residents in the nearby communities could see a large glow as the fire had spread to a staggering 300 hectares in a short time period per DNR on Monday evening.
* Smoke was drifting heavily into Hants County resulting in calls for smoke in those areas.
* The wind direction has since shifted and smoke is drifting in the direction of Shelburne County this morning, some of these areas may be experiencing smoke in their communities who are in this direction.
* This morning Aylesford Fire crews and Brooklyn (SPU) are back on site with dozens of DNR staff and heavy machinery.
* Aircraft is expected to return to work the fire from the air.
* There have been no reported damages to structures but there are hundreds of homes and cottages in the evacuation zone and it’s considered to be a highly populated area for structures which heightens the concern.
* Heavy machinery will be working on fire breaks in the Lake George area to protect these areas this morning.
* The fire remains at an estimated 300 hectares but due to heavy smoke this is a rough estimate and may not be exactly precise.
We thank all those who are dedicated to work to help contain this fire and thinking of the safety of all those on site today.
Thinking of all the evacuees impacted by the Lake George fire, this fire hits very close to home and I know many residents impacted in the area.
Adrian J.
