Conn. woman sees fires destroy her Nova Scotia neighborhood

AVON — As smoke from Canadian wildfires choked Connecticut and created a health emergency in the Northeast, Dana Jackson felt a deep and personal loss.

A lot of that smoke came from her old neighborhood.

Jackson, who lives in Avon, watched as her former community 750 miles away near the Atlantic coast in Nova Scotia was evacuated last week due to massive wildfires in the region that consumed 200 buildings, including about 151 homes. While her old house still stands and the fire is now under control, other homes in the community just outside of Halifax were not so lucky.

“It’s really hard pill to swallow when people are complaining about the air quality when I have friends who’ve lost their homes and friends who have been evacuated from their homes, who’ve had birthday parties canceled because they don’t have a home to have their birthday parties at anymore,” Jackson said. “It’s a bigger picture thing.”

“I love Nova Scotia,” said Jackson, who relocated to Connecticut with her family a year ago. “And we miss it every day. We miss our house there because we actually built a house up there in community called Indigo Shores.”

The wildfires in Canada are a result of dryer-thannormal forest conditions catching fire thanks to lightning and human activity. More than 420 fires burned in Canada, according to the Associated Press.

Smoke from blazes across Canada is expected to continue to cause unsafe air quality in Connecticut for days to come. A lowpressure weather system in the upper atmosphere has been stalled over Nova Scotia, pushing the smoke south to Connecticut and now much of the eastern United States. This has created unhealthy air throughout the region.

The fires have burned nearly 10 million acres, about 15 times more than the annual average, according to Canadian officials. From the Maritime Provinces to Quebec and beyond, the fires have displaced thousands of people and destroying hundreds of homes.

The smoke arrived in Connecticut on Tuesday with air quality alerts issued across the state. The poor quality could last for weeks and pose health risks for children, the elderly and at-risk populations. The alerts are expected to remain in place through the day Thursday.

In Canada, the threat was much more imminent.

The fires forced Kayla Fontaine, a friend of Jackson’s, to evacuate her parents’ home where she is living as her own home is being built. As the fires began to rage, she feared for her parents’ home and her home-to-be.

“When I was driving through that smoke where the fire started and where the road was, our house was in between that,” Fontaine said. “I’m like if we’re hitting smoke like this on the other side of our house from where the fire started, there’s no chance that house is gonna survive. There’s no chance at all.”

During the evacuation period, police would not allow residents into certain neighborhoods, and for good reason.

“Ash was falling on our vehicle as we’re trying to drive back,” Fontaine recalled. “I called my parents who were packing up some stuff at the house, and I said ‘We need to get out of the house. We can’t even get into the neighborhood now.’ ”

Residents in the affected areas surrounding Halifax were allowed to return to their homes in phases depending on proximity to the fire. Fontaine’s house and her parents’ house survived the blaze.

Nonetheless, the evacuation process was stressful. Fontaine was able to spend the week at her sisters’ home, but because of the quick turnaround time for evacuations, she and her family lacked many of the amenities they needed.

“We need clothes,” Fontaine said. “The kids needs diapers. We had absolutely nothing. We’re so grateful that we have our home, but it was a really hard week for us being just displaced and also not knowing when we’ll be able to go back to our home.”

Aside from the fear of losing her home, Fontaine’s

husband is a firefighter.

“He worked every day 24 hours on 24 hours off for the length that the fires were going,” Fontaine said.

When Jackson lived in Nova Scotia, forest fires were never on her radar as a potential threat. She said Nova Scotians are typically “respectful” of ordinances surrounding fires and burning.

“Canada is a different world from here,” said Jackson, who grew up in West Hartford before moving to Canada. “People listen.”

Jackson said hearing about the fire is a “full-circle” moment as she watches the smoke drift over Connecticut, forcing people to stay inside their homes.

“I see everyone’s posts about it,” Jackson said. “I have a lot of friends that live in New York City, and in the nicest way possible, we’re lucky to still have houses.”

Courtesy of Dana Jackson Dana Jackson, of Avon, previously lived in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her friends have been sending her photos of damage, like these of a house that burned down. Nova Scotia was evacuated last week due to wildfires.