Remaining evacuees from Halifax fire are back home

The remaining 50 families forced to flee their homes over the weekend by a huge forest fire east of Halifax were allowed to return home Monday afternoon.

The RCMP said all residents were permitted to go home at 2 p.m.

Police planned to reopen Highway 107 between Exits 18 and 19 at 4 p.m. Monday.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Taplin said the public should drive with care on Highway 107 and other roadways in the Porters Lake, Lake Echo and Mineville areas because there are still Department of Natural Resources and Halifax Regional Fire Service firefighters on the roadways and in the woods.

"If you see a fire apparatus or truck approaching, please pull over and let the vehicle pass. RCMP are also asking all boaters to stay off Lake Echo for the next couple days as helicopters are still using the lake for water," Taplin said in a release.

Three elementary schools, kept closed Monday by the fire, will reopen Tuesday. Classes will resume at Atlantic View Elementary in Lawrencetown, Bell Park Academic Centre in Lake Echo and O'Connell Drive Elementary in Porters Lake.

Hotspots still burning

Also, all junior and senior high students who were ordered out of their homes or who live in the areas that were under high alert for evacuation must contact their principal to either reschedule exams or have their marks pro-rated on work already completed, Halifax Regional School Board officials said Monday.

Halifax regional fire service Deputy Chief Roy Hollett said homeowners who find any fire equipment on their property should leave it in place.

"Do not roll up hoses or move any equipment; personnel will be coming around to collect all gear," Hollett said in a release.

Fire officials said hotspots are still burning in tree roots and on the forest floor, but it is safe for residents to return to the area because there is a low risk of flare ups.

Eric Pick, head firefighter with the Natural Resources Department, said this was the toughest fire he's battled in his 40 years as a forest technician because of the urban sprawl in the Porters Lake area. The blaze displaced 5,000 residents and destroyed two homes in a subdivision on Candy Mountain Road near Mineville.

"There are houses all around, and that's not normally what we deal with. On a fire of this magnitude, there are normally bigger woods, so the urban interface situation that we have dealt with here, it's not something we have had to deal with on this scale," Pick said. "It's something I have never had to deal with."

The province's Health Promotion Departmentis advising resident returning home to discard any perishable refrigerated or frozen foods that may have been above 4 C for more than two hours and any food that feels warm or has an unusual odour or colour.

Staff on Natural Resources Department helicopters were using infrared cameras Monday to find any remaining hotspots.

Most of the residents who were forced to flee were allowed to return to their properties Sunday evening after firefighters made significant progress.

Walter Fanning, director of forest protection for the department, said the situation is looking good.

"Most of [the fire] is out and gone," Fanning said Monday. "Last night, when we did an aerial reconnaissance just before dark, there were about 10 spots that had a little wisp of smoke nothing even compared to what Friday and Saturday gave us.

"What they're doing is looking for the hotspots in the ground, and that's where we'll be concentrating the water bombers on those hotspots today so we can eliminate any flare-up."

Nova Scotia firefighters were aided by three air tankers from New Brunswick, a CL 215 water bomber from Newfoundland and a larger CL 415 water bomber from Quebec, Fanning said.

Taplin said police forensic identification experts have determined that the fire began north of the Wonderland Trailer Park. Pictures of the area were taken and exhibits seized from the site, he said.

Firefighters did remarkable job: RCMP

"Now we'll work with the Department of Natural Resources and [Halifax Regional Municipality] Fire Services and try to figure out what happened there," Taplin said Monday.

Taplin said the firefighters did a remarkable job saving homes in the Candy Mountain Road subdivision from the flames, fanned by high winds.

"I can't praise firefighters enough," he said. "I went out there, I've seen them in action."

The two homes destroyed in the blaze were both on Candy Mountain Road near Mineville.

Clive Jones and his family lost their home all that's left is the foundation wall and the chimney stack.

"For all the people whose property is still out there in jeopardy, I sincerely hope the firemen continue to do the excellent job they have done and save all those properties," Jones said Monday.

"I don't want anybody else to go through this. It's not right, it's not fair, but it is. I mean, you can't do anything about it. That's life, life isn't always good. But it can't get much worse from here, it can only get better."

Many displaced residents stayed with friends and family or in hotels after the blaze, which broke out Friday afternoon near Porters Lake and Lake Echo, moving closer to homes, trailers and cottages.

An emergency shelter was also set up in nearby Cole Harbour Place, and about 40people from Porters Lake stayed there.