Halifax and Shelburne County residents on edge as wildfire anniversaries approach

It's been almost a year since Samantha Brannen fled her Clyde River, N.S., home as it became shrouded in thick smoke and ash rained from the sky.

Brannen would not be able to return for two weeks as a wildfire tore through Shelburne County in southwest Nova Scotia.

Now, the memories are coming back.

"I can start to feel it," Brannen said. "Every time I look out and I see fog and I think, is that smoke?"

As the anniversaries of the wildfires in Shelburne and Halifax counties approach, there are feelings of unease throughout the communities.

WATCH | How Nova Scotians affected by the fires are feeling one year later

About 60 homes were destroyed by the Shelburne County wildfire, which started May 26. It grew to 23,525 hectares, forcing about half of the region's population from their homes.

A year later, Brannen is feeling lucky her home was saved and is in a good place, but empathizes with those is feeling for others who are having a harder time.

Sherry Doane, a volunteer firefighter in Shelburne, said it is clear many are under strain.

"People are concerned that it's going to happen again and I know that they are exhausted with that worry," said Doane, who helped fight the fires last year.

Sherry Doane is shown on the left in the back row, alongside fellow Shelburne volunteer firefighters at the community centre in Birchtown, N.S., last June. (Penny Smith)

Doane has already been a part of the fire department's response to some smaller fires this season that have been quickly extinguished, as well as a number of false alarms showing people are constantly on the look out.

"Everyone is very anxious," she said, adding it is also reassuring that people are paying close attention to the situation.

There is also tension in Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains the year after 151 homes were lost and more than 16,000 people were evacuated from the suburban areas west of downtown Halifax.

That wildfire sparked just a few days after the one in Shelburne County, and both would burn for two months. They were officially declared extinguished in late July.

"When we hear a siren in Westwood Hills, everybody's head perks up," said Dustin O'Leary, the president of the neighbourhood's residents association. "People on social media within the subdivision are saying, 'What was that? Is everybody OK?'"

Westwood Hills is the community where the fire started last year on May 28, before quickly spreading through the woods to Hammonds Plains, causing widespread devastation.

Dustin O'Leary says about 30 homes were lost in Westwood Hills and people remain worried about the wildfire threat. (Paul Poirier/CBC)

O'Leary and others have been campaigning for a new emergency exit ever since, given Westwood Hills only has one way in and out of the subdivision.

Some endured a "horrific time" trying to get out of the community when evacuation orders were made and the fire was on the move, he said.

The Halifax Regional Municipality built two emergency roads from neighbouring Haliburton Hills and Highland Park right after the wildfire.

Council has directed staff to plan and design an emergency connection from Westwood Hills to Highway 103. Potential egress options along with recommendations are expected back before council by the fall.

However, it is not happening quickly enough for O'Leary.

"We're still no better off than we were the day it happened and the amount of anxiety that that causes with everybody is palpable," he said.

Free tool provides mental health support

Worry is to be expected around anniversary dates, according to the chief of psychiatry for the central zone of Nova Scotia Health.

"Activities that are associated with the particular traumatic event, for example sirens or people seeing bush fires, could trigger memories," said Dr. Vincent Agyapong. "It has the potential to increase their levels of anxiety."

Agyapong had to leave his Fort McMurray home for six weeks when he lived in the northern Alberta city that was hit by a massive wildfire in 2016.

He was behind the launch of a text messaging mental health support program to support people back then and helped implement the same service following the wildfires in Nova Scotia.

About 250 people subscribed in the early stages last year, he said, to receive supportive messages with links to other resources.

The service remains open and studies show it has had a positive impact, said Agyapong.

People looking for support can text HopeNS to 393939.

Dr. Vincent Agyapong said it was a traumatic experience when he and his family were forced to leave their home in Fort McMurray for six weeks in 2016. His home suffered smoke damage but thousands of others were destroyed. (Robert Short/CBC)

Help from family and friends is important, as well, for those who are feeling stress, he said.

"It would be useful as the anniversary is coming to reach out to them and offer hope and offer any level of support that they can."

Back in Clyde River, Brannen said while it's going to be a difficult time for many, there are lots of positives.

The spirit people showed at the time has continued, she said, and the support people are giving each other is helping through a trying time.

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