Halifax asks staff for strategies to protect neighbourhoods with high wildfire risk

Halifax councillors have asked city staff to come up with strategies to better prepare the municipality for fires in high-risk areas.

The request comes about three months after more than a hundred suburban homes were destroyed in a blaze that took a week for firefighters to fully contain.

On Tuesday, regional councillors passed a motion for the creation of wildland-urban interface (WUI)  preparedness strategies and recommendations for Halifax. These are areas where large stands of forest come right up to people's homes, and are often found in suburban or rural areas but could also include neighbourhoods near large parks like Point Pleasant.

"This work should be done, should've been done long ago, it needs to be done and it is our role to ensure it's done," Coun. Pam Lovelace said during the meeting.

The Upper Tantallon wildfire began on May 28 in Westwood Hills, a neighbourhood off Hammonds Plains Road roughly 25 kilometres outside Halifax. Officials have said more than 200 structures were destroyed during the wildfire, including 151 homes.

Tuesday's motion was a joint one between Lovelace and downtown Halifax representative Coun. Waye Mason.

It asks staff to list communities in forested areas that need more emergency evacuation routes and water sources, and identify any obstacles standing in the way of those projects.

The motion also suggests requiring secondary evacuation routes and emergency water sources for both new and "expanding" developments. Some existing neighbourhoods in Halifax that were built with only one way in and out are still adding homes, and Mason said it's important to clarify whether the municipality can add conditions to future development.

One example is Indigo Shores near Middle Sackville. The subdivision was evacuated during the May fire and has been tapped by the province for more housing despite the local community council rejecting that idea.

"[We] just can't keep having people building family homes further and further into the woods until we actually have all those things in place," Mason said in an interview Monday.

The motion also asks staff to look into whether Halifax should consider changing building codes and land-use bylaws for these areas, including requiring non-flammable materials such as engineered wood or fibre cement. 

Other ideas could be permanent fire breaks, and requiring that homes be landscaped following FireSmart standards. FireSmart Canada is a national program that aims to minimize the risks of wildfire by creating buffer zones around homes and using fire-resistant plants.

"Part of the attraction of living in the wildland-urban interface is, you know, having a house that feels like a treehouse," Mason said.

"To change how you build … but still allowing people to live out there — that can be a problem, that can be difficult for people. We need to have a very robust community conversation."

FireSmart assessments done years ago by Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources and Renewables for various Halifax communities show high or extreme fire risks in areas surrounded by trees, including Beaver Bank and Westwood Hills, where the Upper Tantallon fire began.

In 2013, Halifax received a study from Dalhousie University which found high risks in forest interface areas and made suggestions on how the city could manage these areas.

When asked her thoughts on such a long delay, Lovelace said emergency management in Halifax "hasn't been adequate" due to few resources and staff. 

There have been several major fires in Halifax in the past, including Spryfield in 2009 when multiple homes were lost, and Porters Lake in 2020 when hundreds of homes were evacuated.

Recent fire 'must be a catalyst for change'

"These are things that we should have been talking about 10, you know, 15 years ago," Lovelace said.

"Considering the wildfires that we've had in the municipality, the fire in Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains must be a catalyst for change."

The motion also asks staff to explore a joint working group for Halifax and the province to tackle issues faster, and highlight for councillors what actions fall under municipal control and could be taken immediately.