Residents evacuated for forest fire near Halifax allowed to return home

PORTERS LAKE, N.S. – Residents of more than 500 homes that were threatened by a forest fire in an area east of Halifax are being allowed to return now that officials have lifted an evacuation order.

Halifax Fire tweeted late Sunday afternoon that the order for West Porters Lake area was ended, noting the weather has been in firefighters’ favour.

Word of the fire first emerged early Saturday afternoon, leading to the closure of area roads and the evacuation of more than 150 homes, involving more than 1,000 residents.

Erica Fleck, the Halifax Region fire emergency management chief, said earlier that 523 homes had been evacuated as of noon local time Sunday and that another 500 homes could be evacuated if conditions worsened.

The tweet says residents were being allowed to return home as of 6 p.m. local time, although it noted a highway exit would remain closed until 9 p.m. this evening.

Firefighters had described the work as “a challenge” and “extremely trying” due to rough terrain that made it difficult to reach some areas.

Feature image via iStock.com/mysticenergy