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#1
4th June 2023, 08:12 AM
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We've been evacuated because of a forest fire
On Sunday, May 28th, we were outside all day because Mr. Duck was building a garage. At one point, we smelled what used to be one of my favourite smells—the nice, woodsy scent of a campfire. It wasn’t a good time to smell it, though, and we said to each other, “What idiot is burning while there’s a fire ban on?” We went back to working hard, but half an hour later, when I turned around to look in another direction, there was sickeningly-orange smoke rising up from the northwest. So, we kept our eyes on it, and a few hours later our cell phones received the first of what would be dozens of different Emergency Alerts.
We live on part of the coastline of southwestern Nova Scotia, in a very rural—almost remote—part of the province. Villages and towns are, not surprisingly, located along the shoreline. So, picture a connect-the-dots sort of scene: here’s a dot/village, there’s another dot/village, and another, all zigzagging from the southwest in a mostly northeastern direction. The first Emergency Alert advised residents of the village just northeast of us to be prepared to evacuate. The next one told them to leave right away. Then the village just northeast of that one went through the same process: get ready…go. And so on. We spent an uneasy night, but we felt very thankful. Very thankful, indeed, as we didn’t seem to be in the line of fire. (Ha ha, look at that; “line of fire” can mean two things.) We weren’t even getting any smoke. In the morning, we sought out news obsessively. We learned that the fire was raging fiercely and growing at a phenomenal rate. (Side note: in the past 3 years, two hurricanes-turned-into-tropical-cyclones have impacted this area, which brought down many trees [and tree limbs], and basically the forests are full of dry kindling.) Unfortunately, we also learned that all power and cell coverage etc. was about to be lost, as everything was going to be shut down as a precaution. And yup, about a half hour later everything went down, and we were without any means of communication at all. No radio, nothing. (This is something that needs to be addressed for the future; that has already been acknowledged and talked about.) Every twenty minutes or so, packs of emergency vehicles would scream by, and it was very unnerving. None of them stopped to talk to us/our neighbours, though, and we found that reassuring. At around 10:00 AM, smoke became visible from a slightly new direction, but we’d heard earlier that the fire was kind of snaky, undulating here and there, plus there was water between us and the new smoke, so again we felt safe. It was weirdly cold that morning, and when I went down to the shoreline to watch the smoke, I had to bundle up and even wear earmuffs (I’m weird that way). The wind was howling, which I knew was not good. And then, oh my god, I wasn’t expecting this at all, suddenly there wasn’t just wild smoke behind the hillside across the water, there were flames at the top of the hill leaping I-don’t-know-how-high-above-the-tree-tops. And there are some lovely, expensive homes at the base of that hill. I was fighting back tears. Oh, I need to tell you…you could HEAR the fire—it was ROARING, like a freight train. And pretty soon, ash began to fall, and it sounded like gentle rain hitting all our trees’ leaves. Then we received our own Emergency Alert, telling us to get ready. I had packed a lot of stuff the night before, ‘cause that’s my style. But we still had a lot of room in our vehicles. Weirdly, I didn’t choose to pack anything more…I couldn’t tear myself from watching those flames… That is, until there was something new to look at. All of a sudden—I know that’s such a cliché, but all of a sudden there was smoke in a whole new direction! Like, coming from the direction of our sole remaining escape path. And then the order to go was received, so off we went. We didn’t see any flames, it was just really, really smoky. The Red Cross had set up in the nearest town outside of the evacuation zone, so we registered with them and then made our way to the closest city. Or, rather, we went just outside of the closest city—about an hour away—to camp. We had/have two cars with us, and one little vintage travel trailer, so we’re fairly well set-up. And after camping for a few days, we decided to move to a motel, because an absolute deluge of rain was forecast. So here we are. We learned today, from a pretty-darned-close-to-official source, that our home/trailer is safe, or at least still standing. But omg you guys, omg, we know for a fact that it reached just across the street from us because we’ve seen a photograph taken by a firefighter. Across the street. The house there was spared, thank goodness, but the fire burned up their side yard right to the road. And we knew it had been close, because NASA has a heat-sensing map, and our provincial government has been releasing maps of the fire's perimetre, and for a couple of days all maps showed the fire on our property. We've been pricing $20K motor homes just to sort of mentally prepare. But we were spared, we think, we were spared. The the fire’s not out, despite the rain that really did, gloriously, appear. (It’s bucketing down where we are, an hour away.) And the Post Office for our village has been destroyed along with the house beside it, and that’s just up the road from us. There’s so much I’d like to babble about, but it’ll be in dribs and drabs as I think about things.  
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#2
4th June 2023, 08:14 AM
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...unty-1.6860141
If you scroll down, you'll see a photo of a burned bridge. That's just up the road from us--one of only two roads in and out.
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#3
4th June 2023, 08:15 AM
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Holy shit.
Stay safe please, and let us now if we can help.
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#4
4th June 2023, 08:20 AM
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Thanks, Jim.
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#5
4th June 2023, 08:35 AM
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I hate thinking of all of the animals affected. Of course I care about people, too, but you know what I mean. It doesn't bear thinking about the wildlife, but there have been many, many hearwarming stories about pets and livestock.
Oh. I know that Facebook deserves to be hated on many levels, but it has been a godsend in this situation. It has been the source of most of our information, and even government-issued information is being received through Facebook. I know that our post office is gone only because of Facebook--because the woman who has run the post office for the past 24 years started a FB page specifically for our community as we deal with the fire. Anyway, there have been scores of posts on FB saying things like, "1234 Anywhere Street, we have your two cats. Call us at..." Not pet-related, but I saw--and shared--a post from a woman who had lost her house plants. That is, she said she had all of her treasured plants with her in a big tote, but when she stopped along the highway somewhere to tend to her dog, she took the tote out of her vehicle and forgot to put it back in. And she is heartbroken. And I feel that. I have been weirdly obsessing about three fruit trees we planted on our front lawn just a week or so ago. The pear tree was exceptionally thirsty, and I haven't been there to water it. And maybe they all got retardant on them. They're not people, but I love them.
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#6
4th June 2023, 08:40 AM
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Speaking of fire retardant, the woman from the post office--Jody--posted that she'd talked to her insurance agent about a couple of things. She was advised that wells in the community could be affected by retardant seeping into them. Good to know. Jody also said she was advised to (once we're allowed to go home) wrap her fridge and freezer in plastic and take them outside before opening. Yeah, that's going to be pleasant.
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#7
4th June 2023, 08:44 AM
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Oh, yeah. It appears that three young men started the fire, at a remote lake quite a ways from town. That is, if one can believe what one sees on Facebook, but it does appear to be a fact. One of them has admitted to it...if one can believe phone screen shots...that have been shared on Facebook. I know, I know. I'll let you know how this plays out, but given all of the remarks from people who should be in the know, I'd say it is. (I know, I know.)
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#8
4th June 2023, 08:44 AM
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Hope you'll be okay...
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#9
4th June 2023, 08:45 AM
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Thanks, Saucerian.
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#10
4th June 2023, 08:47 AM
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Lots of American firefighters are assisting our own. Thanks, American friends.
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#11
4th June 2023, 08:51 AM
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Posted on Facebook one hour ago, just in case anyone's interested. (I like analyzing response actions, myself.):
Yesterday was a good day for firefighting, and with the 35 mm of rain that fell across the area last night, crews remain in good shape to continue firefighting efforts today. We are hopeful for the forecast of an additional 65 mm of rainfall by tomorrow morning. The Barrington Lake fire remains active at an estimated 24,890 hectares and the Pubnico and Lake Road fires are being held. Although community members may not see smoke or hear fire truck sirens, there are still open flames and spot fires in many areas that fire crews continue to work on. ➡️Evacuation orders remain in place. Please continue to take precautions, prepare to evacuate at a moment’s notice, and do not return to evacuated areas. If necessary, additional emergency notice alerts will be issued for mandatory, recommended, and rescinded evacuation orders. The firefighters and support personnel have been working extremely hard since these fires started and we are pleased to see additional resources arriving to support their efforts. Firefighters from Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York are now on site to support the more than 190 personnel working tirelessly to fight the wildfires in our area. Today will be a wet and cold day for the boots-on-the-ground resources and they will be taking extra precautions to ensure everyone remains safe and healthy to continue their operations. With additional resources in place, crews will take shorter shifts to allow them more time to rest and recover from their extensive efforts and prepare to continue their hard work in the days ahead. Additional aircraft have arrived, and more are on the way. Aircraft need high visibility conditions to safely operate so if you don’t see aircraft in the sky, please know they have not left and may be waiting for weather to clear or refuelling elsewhere. The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables has secured additional resources from government departments and contractors to aid efforts, including side-by-sides, a six-wheeled water tanker that can articulate and spray, and helicopters. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 The recovery phase is being planned and has many layers and moving parts. To support recovery measures, a six-member recovery taskforce from the Province of Alberta is joining us tomorrow, Monday, June 5. We know residents are anxious for updates on their properties. Assessors with the province are working to assess the status of properties and infrastructure in the impacted areas. We will be communicating with property owners in the impacted areas as soon as we have the assessment information. This is likely to occur on Tuesday, June 6, at the earliest. Assessments take time and need to be done with safety as a top priority. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 🌈We are beyond proud of everyone living in the municipalities of Barrington and Shelburne and surrounding communities. The outpouring of support has been phenomenal. 💛Thanks to the generosity of Nova Scotians, acceptance of donations at the community centres and at the DNRR basecamp are being paused while teams take inventory of current items received. We will communicate the items that are specifically needed as soon as inventory has been taken. Community centres remain open in Barrington and Shelburne to support those who have been evacuated. ✏️A reminder that all schools in Shelburne County remain closed Monday, June 5, and Tuesday, June 6. This is an incredibly stressful time for our community and its members. Please continue to check in on one another and support your neighbours the best you can. We are all in this together and we will get through this together. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 To keep in the know with immediate, up-to-date information, please refer to the Barrington and Town of Clark's Harbour Emergency Management Organization Facebook page, the Shelburne County East Emergency Management Facebook page, and the Nova Scotia Government Emergency Alerts webpage.
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#12
4th June 2023, 09:06 AM
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I'm personally very lucky in that the educational organization I work for is continuing to pay us while we do nothing. And in two weeks we'll close for summer break and I'll start collecting unemployment insurance anyway.
The government is handing out $500 to every household that has had to evacuate, although we haven't seen it yet. Er, not that that's a problem for us, personally, but I'm thinking about all of the people with fewer resources. Lots of people are staying in arenas and whatnot, and are being fed by volunteers. I've received emails from our internet provider and my bank (Mr. Duck hasn't heard from his) saying, blah blah blah, we're giving you a half price deal right now, and blah blah blah if you need debt relief for a while just reach out. Oh, we had to laugh some hours before we evacuated, when Mr. Duck received a text from a number we didn't recognize, saying, "Thinking of you and Ducky! Prayers and good vibes are going out to you!" Mr. Duck and I had no idea who wrote it, but Mr. Duck was polite and said Thanks. Then, lol, about an hour after that, we got another text...turns out it was our auto insurance provider, and this time they made sure to share a notice about the get-ready-to-evacuate order. So, I wonder. If we had left a vehicle behind and if it had burned, would they really be so assholey as to say, "Well, we did tell you to get it the hell out of Dodge, and you didn't, so..."? I guess I'll never know.
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#13
4th June 2023, 09:11 AM
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(Tasty) Tidbit: Our firefighters are being fed lobster, 'cause we live in The Lobster Capital of The World.
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#14
4th June 2023, 09:15 AM
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Which reminds me, we heard a lobsterboat captain being interviewed on the news. He talked about a wharf that's very close to us, in one of the first villages to get the evacuation order. Apparently, the road on either side of the wharf was engulfed in fire pretty quickly, and boat owners couldn't get to their vessels. So boats from other wharves brought other boat captains who then gained access from the sea and hotwired the boats they hadn't managed to round-up keys for.
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#16
4th June 2023, 09:57 AM
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it's good to know there's at least one Peeking Duck that does not have crispy skin.
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#17
4th June 2023, 10:00 AM
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That bridge photo is terrifying.
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#19
4th June 2023, 11:02 AM
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What a harrowing experience. It's sure good you didn't have to drive through the inferno to evacuate. Will the authorities be testing the groundwater after this is under control, or does everyone need to test their own well?
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#20
4th June 2023, 11:07 AM
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Quote:
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#21
4th June 2023, 11:51 AM
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Quote:
*after it collapsed and the flames had died down might be a different story, if they merely failed to recognize that the bridge wasn't actually there, anymore... **Dammit! My 'Coverup Check' still hasn't arrived! Last edited by C2H5OH; 4th June 2023 at 12:21 PM. Reason: Bitching about my 'Coverup Check'...
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#22
4th June 2023, 12:25 PM
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Quote:
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#23
4th June 2023, 01:25 PM
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Thanks, everyone, and I love the puns, etc.
I've just smoked some (legal, packed from home, lol) cannabis in the vintage travel trailer, and a pizza has been delivered to our motel room, and we have beer, so I'm going to sign off for the evening. It's the first evening in a while that we've felt sort of free.  
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#24
4th June 2023, 01:28 PM
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Enjoy and I hope your home is safe.
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#26
4th June 2023, 06:20 PM
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I'm glad you are OK, Ducky, what a story. I hope your home continues to be fine and you can safely get back to it soon.
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#28
4th June 2023, 07:38 PM
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Quote:
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#31
5th June 2023, 06:34 AM
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Thanks, Helena and Solfy!
As of today, the fire is still out of control but the heavy rain has REALLY helped to slow it down. We learned this morning, though, that the fire is burning deep in the ground in some spots--a subterranean blaze. Alrighty then.
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#32
5th June 2023, 06:49 AM
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that's even scarier than fire you can see coming at you.
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#34
5th June 2023, 09:28 AM
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Duckie, I am so sorry that all this is happening to you, and I am glad that you are okay. Your upbeat attitude is an inspiration.
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#35
5th June 2023, 01:08 PM
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I learned about subterranean fires when I burned stump out. Apparently, dead roots can burn underground. I was lucky enough to realize what was happening and I soaked the entire area.
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#36
5th June 2023, 02:41 PM
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I almost had a campfire get away from me like that. I happened to notice smoke coming from beneath a rock behind me. Apparently there once was a good size stump under the fire pit. After a brief but exciting wilderness fire drill, I enjoyed the rest of the evening without a campfire.
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#37
6th June 2023, 04:00 AM
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I'm so glad you and Mr. Duck are safe, Duckie. I hope your home remains untouched, but what terrifying times!
Wildfires, both those started by nature and man, are becoming more prevalent and starting earlier. We're already prepping for "smoke season" here, and there have already been several brush fires out my way. Stay safe!
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#38
6th June 2023, 09:10 AM
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We have air quality warnings, smoke in the weather forecast, and a pervasive scent of smoke in the air strong enough that if I didn't know the fires are in Canada I'd be worriedly checking to find out what in the area was on fire.
Finger Lakes, New York State. Fingers crossed for everybody, human and otherwise, in the area of the fires.
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#39
6th June 2023, 12:29 PM
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Ugh, those underground fires are the WORST. We get a lot of those since there's layers and layers of tree duff in the forests along with plenty of hidden stumps and every so often we hear about someone stepping on the wrong spot and breaking through into the fire below. It seldom turns out well for those discovering the fires in this manner.
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#40
6th June 2023, 05:33 PM
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We've got the same thing all the way down here in the 'burgh.
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#41
6th June 2023, 05:57 PM
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The sun went fire-orange and then red tonight. Air quality is terrible. Way down hear in the Central Jersey Bayshore.
We also have fires starting up in the Pine Barrens about 60 miles south of me.
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#42
7th June 2023, 02:18 AM
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Thank you so much for all of the good thoughts and sentiments! They mean a lot.
I'm truly sorry that the smoke/poor air quality is so far-reaching and horrible.  We woke up to news! Very confusing news. The following was posted on Facebook: We are happy to report that the Barrington Lake fire is now classified as “being held,” meaning fire is not likely to move if conditions don’t change. We are expediting the process for re-entry and focused on taking a safety-first approach. Fire Marshalls and RCMP are completing inspections and conducting investigations. The re-entry timing will depend on the completion of this work. Beginning tomorrow at 9:00 AM (today, two hours from now as I write this), those who remain evacuated from their homes are asked to contact their municipality to book an appointment where they will be given an information package and learn more about the status of their property. (Phone numbers) Due to an anticipated high volume of calls, please continue to call to arrange an appointment. So, I dunno how this will go. We'll start calling on the dot of 9:00, of course, but will we get through before check-out time for the motel we're currently staying in? Should we be packing, or anticipating another night here? Meh, those things aren't really important, but then, what does this mean: "book an appointment where they will be given an information package and learn more about the status of their property". Does that mean that we have to return to Barrington municipality to maybe be told that our house is gone--which would mean that we'd have to travel back to Yarmouth municipality where we've been staying in a motel? The motel that we just gave up to go to Barrington for our appointment? It's a bit vague. We continue to hear through the grapevine that our place is still standing, and we continue to believe it. Two of my friends have lost their homes, though. Both of them are older than me, and in one instance, my friend and her husband didn't even have insurance, because insurance companies around here won't touch "older" trailers. (Ours is pretty old, but it's well maintained and on a foundation with a basement, and for some reason or another one--just one--insurance company agreed to insure us. Maybe they won't next year, though.) The other friend who lost her home is 85. And I heard that she's been volunteering every day/all day at the arena/shelter she's staying in because that's the kind of person she is. In fact, I know her only through volunteering. She's a force of nature, I tell ya. But oh, my heart aches for her and everyone else who's suffered such a loss.Our community has lost 60 homes, and we recently learned that 90 "outbuildings" have also been lost. Hmm. Maybe Mr. Duck's garage-in-process has been a casualty? Our neighbour's giant/vintage garage across the street? We'll see. And speaking of "seeing", I've been itching to get home...until now when it's going to become a reality. Suddenly I'm kind of terrified. We'll still be "camping" even if we get home tonight. Nova Scotia Power will not reenergize the community right away--they want people to be home for a while, turning off appliances and whatnot that may have been left on before they restore power. And, every single TV/Radio/Facebook notification keeps harping on DO NOT DRINK THE WELL WATER, and apparently we aren't even supposed to drain, bleach, and test for at least five days after returning home. (The government is going to supply the testing kits and will cover testing-lab costs, at least.) We started buying cleaning supplies yesterday, figuring they might be hard to come by in our own, affected municipality. Forgot to buy TSP, though, so that's on the list for today. Thanks for reading.
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#43
7th June 2023, 03:10 AM
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Well, at least things are edging back to semi-normal...
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#44
7th June 2023, 03:50 AM
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Switching these back around...
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#45
7th June 2023, 06:09 AM
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Quote:
and if YOU don't understand the instructions posted those doing it need to make it more clear. I guess they are doing their best, like everyone else. meanwhile, at least you & Mr. Duck are together whatever you find when you get home. really looking forward to reading your place is OK! 
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#46
7th June 2023, 08:56 AM
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I'm trying to comprehend the size of this fire. Air quality has been worsening as the day goes along and I'm all the way down on the Bayshore in Central New Jersey. I've never seen it this smoggy.
Where is the smoke and particulates coming from? Surely not Nova Scotia? But I can't figure out where all the fires are. Any links covering the smoke sources? This is the best I've found so far: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ada-fires.html We're up to a Code Red air alert. I'm trying to keep the house tight and the AC running but we have guys working on the kitchen today, so the door is open a lot. Ducky, I hope things somehow work out well for you. This is so out of the ordinary for the North East.
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#47
7th June 2023, 09:00 AM
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#48
7th June 2023, 09:07 AM
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#50
7th June 2023, 11:47 AM
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Thanks again, everyone.
It turns out that the smoke in the eastern states is mostly from fires in Ontario and Quebec. Still, as a Canadian, sorry, sorry, sorry! Today's phone call was anticlimactic. We were told to expect someone to call us tomorrow to give us the details we're waiting for. Well, alrighty then. Today we did laundry, resorted some of our belongings, and visited an Electrolux store. We wanted a heppa filter for our vaccuum, but none of them would fit our (old but very mighty) model. When we told the store owner why we wanted one--because we anticipated having to vaccuum up ash--he very kindly modified one to make it fit.
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