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- Premier Houston says Tantallon fire evacuation order could last “for days”
Premier Houston says Tantallon fire evacuation order could last “for days”
Plus: Support and resources for those affected by NS wildfires.
Alyssa Goulart
May 30, 2023
PRESENTED BY
The city is on fire today.
It’s been on fire for a few days at this point. It’s hard not to get caught up in the apocalyptic aesthetic of it all. It does feel very much like this is the inciting incident in Nova Scotia’s very own province-ending disaster. There is, and will be over the coming days a lot of anger and sadness. The scope of this loss is hard to fathom; we don’t even know the extent of the loss at this point. There are two things media outlets normally get wrong after a disaster like this, just so you can be aware, and most importantly, hold us accountable if we fall into these traps.
First and foremost, all we really know is that this destruction is already widespread. Even though the emergency response has so far been excellent, it has been hindered by long-standing policy choices that are making the current situation worse. And those issues about how we develop our cities and how we build our society’s infrastructure and how that infrastructure interacts with the natural environment needs a fundamental re-examining when all this is over. The lessons hard learned in Fort MacMurray are being hard learned again in Tantallon. We will need to have a very serious municipal conversation about what sustainability means when it comes to being prepared for worst-case scenarios, like the one unfolding this week in the HRM.
Studies of media after disasters often find that we, as journalists often mess up in times of crisis by focusing on the visceral destruction. But studies, like the one after the 2014 earthquake in Pakistan, often find that “media reported the natural disasters after their occurrence and the role of media was almost absent in the pre-disaster periods of even predictable disasters. In the post-disaster times, media frequently overlooked highlighting policy-related issues as well as accountability of concerned disaster management authorities.” Chief Stuebing warned council that HRM’s fire service would be stretched too thin in a major emergency during budget deliberations this year, and now we have a major emergency. What do we need to learn from this? But that’s a question for a later time, for now, some optimism.
One of the other things media often get wrong is that we focus on the bad people—the people who use the chaos as cover to do dark deeds. But that’s not usually an accurate reflection of what’s happening on the ground. According to Statistics Canada, most of us help each other out after an emergency. Times of crisis bring out the best in people, we want to help each other given the chance. Over the next weeks and months, people will be motivated by kindness and love. We’ll try and make sure our coverage reflects that too.
Look for the helpers,
News reporter, The Coast
WILDFIRE
Premier Houston says Tantallon fire evacuation order could last “for days”
📸 Martin Bauman/ The Coast
Brad George was in the midst of his weekly Sunday clean-up when his Highland Park home began to fill with smoke. He could see it, smell it in the air. He looked out the front window. Ash fell on his lawn. Flames licked above the trees across the street.
“I could just see this big plume of smoke right outside,” he says, speaking with The Coast at the Black Point & Area Community Centre on Monday morning. “I just started grabbing what I could and went outside, started putting stuff in the car. My neighbours were all doing the same thing.
“Everybody was just kind of in agreement to get out of there as fast as we could… But it was a real logjam to get out of there.”
George isn’t sure how much, if any, of his house will remain when he’s allowed to return. Not that he knows when he can return, either. He’s one of roughly 14,000 Haligonians who have been forced to evacuate after a growing wildfire in the Upper Tantallon region prompted a half-dozen schools to close and the HRM to declare a state of local emergency.
And while Halifax Fire’s deputy chief says crews from across the province are working to douse the flames, the fire is far from extinguished.
Need to know
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 23C and a low of 12C. A UV index of 7.
💨 Due to the wildfires a special air quality statement is in effect. The smoke is reducing air quality and reduced visibility in certain areas.
⚠️ Correction: The intro of yesterday’s newsletter mentioned that the Scotia Festival of Music’s Highlight Concert 6 would be taking place at the Joseph Strung Concert Hall. This was a typo, the correct name of the venue is the Joseph Strug Concert Hall.
SPONSORED BY GARRISON BREWING
Tastes like summer
Have you tried Garrison Brewing’s latest release?! Their Mango Dragonfruit Sour flew off the shelves last year, so don’t wait until the sun sets to try this brew.
They’ve got sunshine on their minds, so expect notes of bubble gum, dragon fruit, and mango on the nose. Bursting with flavours of tropical fruit, cranberries, strawberry, and cherry, this beer has a slightly sour finish and pours a beautiful reddish-purple.
Text your friends right now! Celebrate summer with this release at Garrison Seaport and The Oxford Taproom. Order from the Garrison Brewing website for free HRM delivery.
Cans are available from their friends at Harvest Wines, Westside Beer Wine Spirits, Rockhead Wine & Beer Market, Liquid Assets NS (in the Halifax airport!), and participating NSLC’s.
Follow them on Instagram: @garrisonbrewing
COMMUNITY
Support and resources for those affected by NS wildfires
In an effort to consolidate the outpouring of support we’re seeing online, we’ve created this list to help those affected find resources within their communities. We will continue to update this list as this story develops, if you see something you think we can add to this list you can email [email protected].
Wildfire safety resources:
Shelter, food & water:
Resources for pet owners:
How you can help:
An updated list will be shared on The Coast today.
SPONSORED BY MAYWORKS KJIPUKTUK/HALIFAX
This year’s Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax programming is centered around movement, the body, and dance
The Movements is a high-intensity 90-minutes 80s workout video meets economic smack down wrapped in a theatrical bow. Created by Zuppa, presented with Mayworks Kjipuktuk/Halifax and Eastern Front Theatre, The Movements will have you sweating, but will it be from the workout or the economy?
In other news
✊ Support from Ottawa for the ongoing wildfires could be coming after Trudeau said he’d be speaking with Tim Houston and Mike Savage yesterday afternoon.
🥕 Farmer’s markets in Nova Scotia have been skyrocketing in numbers over the past 2 decades. This year the province has 44 markets, the most per capita in Canada. Read more here.
🔋 Halifax condo residents are trying to go green but Nova Scotia electricity rules are making it difficult. CBC has the story.
🌾 Nova Scotia crops are facing a drier than normal season and Farmers are becoming more and more worried about a possible drought.
🆓 The HRM is holding a Curbside Giveaway this weekend to help reduce the amount of garbage that gets sent to the landfill. How to participate: Clean out your closets, post your items on the city’s interactive map, place your items on the curb and mark them with a free sign.
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