An evacuation order for parts of the Bayers Lake Business Park in Halifax has been lifted, as fire crews continue to hold the blaze at its current size of about 15 hectares.
Crews remain Thursday on the scene near Susies Lake to fight the fire, but it is no longer expected to spread as long as conditions don’t change, and the municipality says there is no threat to residents or structures.
A mandatory evacuation was in place beginning on Tuesday for businesses on the west side of Chain Lake Drive between the off-ramp of Highway 102 and Julius Boulevard. That area included the addresses at 205, 213 and 225 Chain Lake Dr.
The evacuation order was lifted at 11 a.m. AT on Thursday.
Julius Boulevard is still closed from Dugger McNeil Drive to Susie Lake Crescent.
The Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre, which has been closed since Tuesday afternoon, remains closed on Thursday but will reopen Friday. Nova Scotia Health says any Friday appointments that were already rescheduled or relocated will remain at those new times and locations.
Affected public transit back to normal routing
Halifax Transit operations that had been affected by street closures and evacuations have now returned to normal routing, including Route 28 Bayers Lake.
Scott Tingley, the manager of forest protection for the Department of Natural Resources, said as of Thursday morning, crews were expecting to have the perimeter of the Susies Lake fire 100 per cent contained by noon.
“They’ve made very good progress and they’re actually starting to work inward from the perimeter and start cooling down that fire towards the middle as well,” he said. “So we’re happy with the progress that the staff and the fire department have made.”
