14,000 People Evacuated From Areas Near Halifax as Wildfires Spread

People stop on the side of the road where police set up a roadblock as heavy smoke fills the sky in a suburban community outside of Halifax on May 28, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese

An estimated 14,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in areas surrounding Nova Scotia’s capital city, Halifax, as strong winds are causing local wildfires to spread rapidly, according to Halifax Deputy Fire Chief David Meldrum.

Meldrum told reporters on May 29 that the evacuations began escalating in the afternoon the day prior after wildfires began spreading and destroying a number of homes in the areas of Tantallon and Hammonds Plains, which are just northwest of downtown Halifax.