'Beautiful rainy day': Shelburne County wildfire is out of control, but optimism abounds

It's been a hectic week for fire crews and support staff tackling a historic wildfire in Shelburne County, but heavy rainfall this weekend and reinforcements from the U.S. are helping lighten the load for firefighters. 

"It's this beautiful rainy day," Dave Rockwood, spokesperson for Nova Scotia's Department of National Resources, said Sunday morning.

"Thirty five millimetres of rain has fallen in the last 24 hours, and according to the weather report, we're looking at 10 and 15 throughout the day … and another 10 to 15 overnight. If we get that we're going to be feeling a whole lot better." 

As of 8 a.m., the Barrington Lake fire in Shelburne County was at 24,890 hectares, he said. It is the largest wildfire on record for Nova Scotia.

Local crews have been kept busy since the fire started last Friday. Rockwood said his main concern now is to make sure to limit fatigue and to avoid any slips, trips and falls. 

The arrival of firefighters from New Hampshire and New York, who will be out in the woods today, will also help. "That's gonna help keep the rest of us that have been around a lot longer, keep us safe, keep us rested," he said. 

The Lake Road fire, just south of Shelburne, is being held at 114 hectares. It has not grown since Saturday, said Rockwood, and some residents who'd been evacuated have been allowed to return to their homes. 

Meanwhile, the fire in Pubnico, at 138 hectares, has been in check since Saturday at noon. 

In total, 192 personnel are working on the fires, along with 49 pieces of heavy equipment, said Rockwood.

Eddie Nickerson, the warden of the Municipality of Barrington, says his community has come together in a big way in the past week.

"Everybody has something to do," he said. "If they're not out fighting the fire, they're at the community centre helping out. If they're not volunteering, they're putting people up in their homes. It is a community effort."

He feels the mood lifting around town with this weekend's rain.

"Usually it's the sunshine that brings on that attitude, this time it's the grey clouds and the rain," he said.

Four of six CL-415 water bombers expected to arrive in Nova Scotia from Montana have landed in Greenwood. With the rain, they aren't expected to be needed Sunday, Rockwood said.