Aside from all the other terrible city smells unearthed by summer’s heat (here’s to you, green bin day), HRM has been bathed in a particular musk over these past few days.
Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency says the culprit is smoke from the ongoing wildfires elsewhere in Nova Scotia. That smoke is wafting its way into the city and causing a hazy, smoky stank throughout the municipality.
“Several residents from across the region are using social media to ask if there’s a fire in their area,” HRM spokesperson Brendan Elliott writes in a press release. “There is a strong likelihood what they are in fact seeing and smelling is residue from the fires in southwestern Nova Scotia.”
The municipality is asking residents to use “discretion” and only call 911 if they see “clear evidence of a fire.”
Several wildfires are still burning throughout the province as of Wednesday morning, including the blaze near Seven Mile Lake in Annapolis County that’s grown to 350 hectares. Smaller fires in Shelburne, Pictou, Queens and Annapolis are largely contained, but travel and activities within the woods is still restricted.
According to the province, the wildfire have also affected air quality elsewhere in the province putting “young children, the elderly, people with allergies, heart or lung conditions at risk.”
The department of Health and Wellness suggests keeping doors and windows closed to avoid letting in the polluted wind, as well as staying indoors in an air conditioned space (“such as a library, indoor sports facility, mall or other public space”) if you’re sensitive to air quality.
