Despite the hot, dry weather, the number of fires in the province’s forests hasn’t been much different than last year.
It may be that people are being more cautious.
Jim Rudderham, the manager of Forest Protection for the Department of Lands and Forestry, says people are being more careful and are using the province’s BurnSafe web site, which he encourages everyone to do.
Link to Burnsafe Map: https://novascotia.ca/burnsafe/
Rudderham says staff take daily readings of humidity, wind speed, temperature and rainfall.
“They change so quickly, that’s why you have to be very aware of that. It’s all based on the science at the weather stations we have around the province. people need to trust that site and check them daily to make sure if they can burn or not.”
He also says Mother Nature has been helpful.
“It has been dry but it’s also been so very humid as well and we know that humidity makes everything so damp. We haven’t been having a whole lot of heavy winds. When we get a lot of heavy winds and low humidity and no rain and high temperatures, that drives the risk up even higher.”
There have been 155 fires in Nova Scotia’s woodlands so far this year, compared to 174 in 2017.
But those fires have only burned 241 hectares, compared to more than 700 last year.
(Nova Scotia.ca photo)
