Overview

• A lightning strike sparked the Long Lake fire in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, and crowning flames advancing within four kilometres of West Dalhousie forced evacuation of about 40 homes.
• The Susies Lake blaze on Halifax’s outskirts has been held at roughly 15 hectares since Wednesday evening, though the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources warns that conditions remain volatile.
• In Newfoundland, the Kingston fire has grown beyond 80 square kilometres and prompted extended evacuation alerts for Job’s Cove and other coastal communities as officials report up to 100 homes may have been lost.
• Intense crowning and deep-burning fuels have complicated suppression efforts, prompting reliance on interprovincial aid and Canadian Armed Forces crews in lieu of scarce fixed-wing water bombers.
• Smoke from the blazes has prompted expanded air-quality advisories for Halifax, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, and officials are cautioning the public to rely on verified government updates as social media rumors run rampant.