After about a month and a half, the Long Lake wildfire in Annapolis County is under control.
The designation is a major milestone in the fight against any fire, according to a social media post from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The fire broke out on August 13 after a lightning strike lit the extremely dry forest. It spread quickly, and because of the dry conditions, the fire burned deep into the trees, which made it less responsive to water and even more challenging to fight, according to past statements from department officials.
At its maximum, the fire reached around 8,500 hectares, forced hundreds to evacuate and destroyed 20 homes.
DNR said firefighters were holding the fire at around that size on September 8. The “being held” designation means they are preventing the fire from growing, but it could still get away from them.
The shift on Saturday to “under control” means they are confident there is no way for the fire to get out of their control, and that the fire is “responding well to suppression efforts,” according to the social media post. Firefighters simply have to put out the rest of the fire.
DNR says it is still around 8,468 hectares in size, with multiple fires active in that zone. They will not revise the size estimate unless they make a more precise measurement.
Firefighters will continue infrared scanning to detect hot spots, as well as walking through the zone, smelling for smoke, and feeling the ground for heat with their hands, then digging up hot spots and dousing them with water.
It is possible winter may arrive before the fire is totally out, they say. In that case, the fire will not be a threat during the winter season, and DNR will monitor the zone until firefighting can resume in the spring.
