Forest fire near Kejimkujik National Park spreads to 350 hectares

Despite challenging weather onWednesday, crews and aircraft in western Nova Scotia kept a forest fire near Kejimkujik National Parkfrom spreading further.

The fire at Seven MileLake is still activebut is 35 per cent contained, the Department of Natural Resources said. It spread to 350 hectares by Wednesday, eating up 110 hectares on Tuesday.

Crews have spent six days battling that fire, which quadrupled in size since Saturday.

Another fire atTen Mile Lake inQueens County is being held, but is still a challenge for firefighters.

Smaller, new fires out

A 0.1 hectare fire that started Wednesdayin Round Hill in Annapolis County has been100 per cent contained and is being patrolled. A smallerfirein Coldbrookwas also extinguished Wednesday.

Three new fires in the Morganville area of Digby County were all put out.

Crews are working around the clock to curb its growth amid winds thatpicked up early in theafternoon, making the task more challenging.

"Today is supposed to be a beautiful day if you're on vacation, but a horrible day if you're fighting forest fires," said Jim Rudderham, the department's forest protection operations manager.

Fire often backtracks

He says air tankers are attacking the fire from above with crews trying to extinguish it on the ground.

The fire is moving forward and backward, pushed by the wind into places it has already burned.

The Seven Mile Lake fire is the biggest of more than 10forest fires that have been reported in Nova Scotia since last week.

Twoof them Seven Mile Lake in Annapolis County andTen Mile Lake in Queens County are out of control.

The othershave been contained or are no longer burning.

Hazy skies over Halifax

Environment Canada has issuedspecial air quality statementsthat remainin effect for Annapolis,Lunenburg, Queens and Kings counties. By noon on Wednesday, the smoke had travelled as far as Halifax.

Emergency officials arecautioning against calling 911 about smellingsmoke because "there is a strong likelihood what they are in fact seeing and smelling is residue from the fires in southwestern Nova Scotia."

There have been 41 callsin the past three days reporting fires that turned out to be false alarms, a municipal spokesman says.

Meanwhile, aban on brush burning and campfires is in effect across the province.

'Creeping burn'

Some of the crews have been working since the Seven Mile Lake fire was discovered last Thursday.

The fire moved so quickly Monday night that crews were forced to leave the area. It slowed down on Tuesday, but spread further.

Rudderham says no firefighters have been injured, but it's been a tough slog.

"It's a creeping burn. It's just so hard for the crews, it's just challenging them so bad," he said.

"They win and they lose and they win and they lose. It's just hard."

So far, the fire has not threatened any homes. Rudderham says there's some extra protection around cottages and camps near the fire.

Digging fire breaks

Heavy equipment operators are digging up brush and vegetation to create wide sections where the fire can't pass.

"They are clearing away anything that can burn. Down to bare minimum soil," Rudderham said.

There were no new fires reported overnight Tuesday and so far, he says there are enough resources to go around. But every new fire draws crews away.

Twenty additional firefighters from New Brunswick and Rudderham were expected be on the ground Wednesday afternoon.