N.S. needs the public's help finding information on cause of Upper Tantallon wildfire

Nova Scotia's Natural Resources Department says unless new information is brought forward, no charges will be laid under the Forests Act in relation to the devastating wildfire last year in Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains.

The department is asking the public to come forward with information about potential violations to the act that led to the wildfire that broke out in the suburbs outside Halifax on May 28, 2023, destroying 151 homes and burning 969 hectares of land.

It said a considerable amount of information has already been gathered, including from the public, but the investigation can only continue if new information is brought to light about the cause or who might be responsible. As it stands, there is not enough evidence to lay charges.

'We would like to see closure to this'

Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said it's "disappointing" the investigation is at a standstill, but that doesn't suggest the department's work has not been exhaustive.

"If there is something laying under a rock that we need to find out, we need that information," Rushton told reporters following a cabinet meeting Thursday.

"We would like to see closure to this just as well as everyone else living this horror show."

The province has two years from the date of an offence to lay charges under the act.

Marion Gillespie, who lives in hard-hit Highland Park and serves on the board of the neighbourhood's ratepayers association, said residents want answers and are becoming impatient.

"I get it, but it's been so long and families need closure," said Gillespie, who drove through flames and heavy smoke on the Hammonds Plains Road while fleeing the fire.

"The people realize that it was an accident, an unfortunate accident that has caused so much devastation. But I think people just need to hear them say, this is how it happened and [whoever is responsible] is devastated."

WATCH | These trees were burned in the Upper Tantallon wildfire. But their legacy lives on:

Trees scorched by N.S. wildfires given new life in home builds

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Thousands of trees in Hammonds Plains and Upper Tantallon, N.S., were burned, blackened or destroyed by the wildfires of May 2023. Now some of them are returning in a very different form. The CBC's Aly Thomson has the story.

Gillespie said her association is also confused as to why the department waited so long — more than 14 months after the fire started — to appeal to the public for information.

"The past year has been a lot for so many families in Highland Park, Westwood Hills, Yankeetown, Perry Pond. It's time to just give the answers that people are looking for. That's all they want," she said.

"We're just getting the runaround and enough is enough."

Rushton said the department does have an idea about where the fire originated, but would not elaborate further.

In a news release, the department said charges are only laid if there is sufficient evidence to secure a conviction, and there is a high bar for what can be used as evidence in court.

It said there is no criteria for the type of information they are seeking — anyone with information they believe could be helpful in the investigation should call the department at 1-800-565-2224.

People convicted of violations under the Forests Act can be fined up to $50,000. They can also face up to six months in prison.

Charges under the Forests Act are not criminal charges. An RCMP investigation into the wildfire determined there was no criminality in the cause of the blaze.