Nova Scotia has announced emergency financial support for residents in Kings County who have been evacuated because of the ongoing Lake George wildfire.
Applications for the program begin Wednesday.
The fire began Sept. 28 and is currently considered out of control — fuelled by dry and windy conditions. As of Tuesday, the fire is 288 hectares in size and 353 properties have been evacuated. No structures have been lost, the province confirmed in an update.
“Given current wildfire activity, it is not known when residents will be able to go home,” the province said in a release.
The county’s mayor, Dave Corkum, said 391 people from 205 households have registered with the Canadian Red Cross at a shelter in New Minas, N.S., although only three people are staying at the facility.
“Most of the people are staying in motels or with family and friends,” the mayor said Monday.
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The new financial support program will be available for residents displaced from their primary residences. People who had to leave secondary homes, such as cottages and camps, will not qualify.
People displaced for four to seven days will receive $500 per adult aged 18 and over, and $200 per minor.
Those displaced for eight to 14 days will receive an additional $500 per adult and $200 per minor.
Adults displaced for 15 days or more will receive an additional $250 per week, while minors receive an additional $200 per week.
The amount will be capped at $3,000 per adult and $1,750 per minor.
Funding for the program will be available until the evacuation order is lifted or until the end of the wildfire season on Oct. 31 — whichever comes first.
Efforts Tuesday include 62 Department of Natural Resources firefighters, 23 local firefighters and 39 from British Columbia. There are also planes from Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories battling the blaze, alongside five helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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