2023-06-07

Amazing people, doing amazing things

SOUTH SHORE – Stepping up to the plate.

Just by word of mouth and by scrolling on Facebook you can see so many people offering land, offering food, accommodations for people affected by the two massive fires that are burning out of control in the Shelburne area and in Halifax Regional Municipality.

Two amazing women have stepped up and have offered their driving services recently to help those in need at the Barrington-area fire.

Amy McGowan is one of them.

"It has been insane, absolutely nuts. The amount of support from this community is phenomenal," she said in an interview on the morning of May 30.

McGowan said she was scrolling through Facebook earlier in the week and saw all of the posts from the fires.

"My heart breaks for all of these people affected," she said, adding that much of her empathy comes from when she and her family had a house fire in 2008.

"The community came together and raised a ton of money for my family to help us rebuild. They helped us rebuild our lives. It was phenomenal. That's kind of where my drive comes from," she said.

"I saw all the posts about the fires and I figured people would want to help out, so I put a message on Facebook to let people know I was headed to Shelburne to take some water and a few things."

Reaction was swift. Within four hours, she raised $1,500 to do a little shopping before heading out. Her and her daughter, Jada headed out the afternoon of May 29 with an SUV full of goods.

She has committed to making another run into Shelburne on Thursday, June 1 and will be taking as much as she can to the Shelburne Fire Hall.

If you would like to donate anything – clothes, food, water, toiletries – you can get a hold of McGowan at 902-354-0807 by calling her or texting, or send an e-transfer donation to: amyk1@live.ca.

She said businesses, such as Folk Law, Subway and Dixie Lee have stepped up and donated money and food.

Of her own situation, she said, "I don't have a whole lot of money, so there's not a lot that I can do in that way, but I do have a huge mouth and I can shout and ask for help."

Pastor Joanne Ozon is the minister of Hope Wesleyan Church in Shelburne, she is also a bus driver that goes from Liverpool to Shelburne twice a day.

She put a call out the evening of May 29 to folks in the Liverpool area to see if anyone would like to give to those affected by the fire.

"My gosh, they gave. My truck was full, the back seat, front seat, the back, everything is full," she said in an interview this morning (May 30), adding that she was taking things to the comfort centre at the Shelburne Community Centre.

At her home, in Sandy Point, her vehicles in her yard were full of ash this morning...not a good sign.

"The harbour is not very wide and it's just going to take one hot cinder to come across the harbour," she said. "We're not evacuated yet, but the is definitely a possibility that we are going to have to."

She also mentioned that her church, is open for people that need a place to relax or use the internet. At the time of this interview (10 a.m.) Eastlink was still unavailable, so a few businesses in the area were using the internet for that purpose.

Ozon and her husband were evacuating from their home to head to a campground because of the smoke. She does have a heart condition that may prevent her from making a return voyage from Liverpool to Shelburne.

As previously mentioned, there are many people offering, campground spots, accommodations and lands for animals in Queens and Lunenburg County, for those affected by the fire.

For example: The Lunenburg Visitor Information Centre will be a drop-off food point for food, pet food and clothing for fire evacuees; the South Shore Exhibition Grounds has opened their gates and it is also a drop-off point and the Lunenburg Campground and RV Park is open for all of those affected.

As of 12:35 p.m. on May 30, in the latest update from the Department of Natural Resources/Renewables (DNRR), the Barrington Lake, Shelburne County fire is covering 11,510 hectares and remains out of control – 50 DNRR firefighters, 40 volunteer firefighters, four helicopters one water bomber are on the scene.

Evacuation centres is open at the Sandy Wickens Memorial Arena, 12 Park Lane, Sherose Island, Barrington and the Shelburne Community Centre located at 63 King Street, Shelburne, for those being displaced due to the Shelburne County wildfire. Also open is the Osprey Arts Centre and the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club for showers and internet.

Evacuation information is available at: https://www.facebook.com/shelburneemo.

At the Westwood Hills, Tantallon fire, 788 hectares have burned and remained out of control, according to the latest update from DNRR at 10:51 a.m. May 30.

Forty DNRR firefighters, along with 80 HRM and Department of National Defence firefighters are on scene, along with three DNRR helicopters.

Fire crews are focused on protecting houses and other structures. The current estimate is that about 200 homes and structures have been damaged.

For further updates go to www.halifax.ca.

Just to note, there is a complete fire ban covering all of Nova Scotia.