The government of Nova Scotia is closing the forests to all use as of 4:00pm today.
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As per the norm, the govât has issued this blanket ban without any details on whatâs permitted. Exactly like during Covid. Are rail trails allowed? Point Pleasant Park? The Mainland Common?
@Lawrence do you have any information if this includes all of MRWA as well? Is it legal to ride the granite trails in the front country without venturing into the wooded trails?
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Unfortunately neither I nor the rest of MRWA have the premier on speeddial.
According to DNR though, all trails on Crown land are closed (basically, Flat Lake to Herring Cove). It doesnât matter if a user considers the area âwoodedâ or not. And all that landscape is very flammable, whether there are standing live trees or not.
It isnât clear yet if the activity ban applies to muncipal park land (trails from Hartlen to Flat Lake). A request for clarification has been submitted. HRM might give their own ban too, I dunno.
Best to stay out of the âwoodsâ (broadly defined) for now. Thatâs my take.
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The Gore Trails(formerly Empire Trails) and Wentworth have both now posted that they are closed on social media.
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MRWA just posted they are closed now too.
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Kentville has closed their trails.
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From
: In addition to the Provinceâs wooded area restrictions, the municipality is closing wooded areas of municipal parks and all municipal trails as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31. Parks such as Shubie Park, Point Pleasant Park and Admiral Cove Park will be fully closed.
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A little rant:
I understand the closures but this is a real joke. I canât ride my bike on a trail with nothing on me that can cause a spark but I can drive down any road and flick cigarettes at will if I want. This is absurd!
And this guy that started this fire, is he gonna see any jail time? Bc if I went out and lit someoneâs house on fire, I would be arrested and jailed for arson. How is this guy allowed to walk around? Or do we treat him like a politician, hereâs a slap on the wrist. Donât let it happen again.
Is that whatâs gonna happen here?
Any DNR guys or RCMP?? Anyone have any insight as to whatâs going to transpire with the ass hat that started all of this?
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@Goose, I totally feel the frustration.
I could be wrong in this, but i think closing the trails was to keep people out should a fire start in the area, and they donât have the resources for a rescue.
When we first saw the smoke from our deck and heard the sirens, we were thinking who would do any burning activities on a day like this. Iâm hoping that if it was due to illegal burning, that their ass gets heavily fined for their lack of judgement.
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I imagine they are going to slap them with a heavy fine. But they are goint to keep the persons name very quiet so that people in the effected areas wont start a witch hunt going after the person
Yesterday leaving work there were city workers fixing the commons laying sod, they have the areas closed off with tape and snow fencing so the grass can take, yet they were all standing around smokingâŚ
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And Iâm sure they all used the ashtray. Lol rules for thee but not for me.
And now with these lockdowns, I hate to say it but now we can watch the number of cyclists being taken out on local roads going up.
Bullshit!
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Even if everyone is careful to avoid starting accidental fires, thereâs still the potential for someone getting hurt/lost/etc that may end up pulling emergency resources away from where theyâre needed more. Definitely sucks for everyone, but hopefully itâs short-lived.
We had reports of someone camping in the woods in Herring Cove and having a cookfire burning the last couple of nights, and the fire dept has had to send out a response. So stupid.
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A search and rescue for a lost or injured hiker/biker/atver/fisher would tax an already strained to snapping supply of human resources.
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I hear that. The number of Karens Iâm seeing on social media getting pissy at the very mention of the hardship this will cause for active, responsible forest trail users makes my blood boil. Of course, none of them have ever spent a minute in the woods, but theyâll be the first ones to go on a witch hunt should any of us step within an inch of a tree.
Of course I will abide by the rules that are set out because I do not want to strain emergency services at all, but it is frustrating.
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Pretty heavy call IMO.
Think the best thing to do is focus on anyway possible assisting with the overall recovery/rebuild. If that means sit and wait it out then thats it.
When the dust settles maybe some better recommendations can be staffed up in order to alleviate this blanket ban in the future.
Big take away everyone should be thinking about is having a plan for personal evac, and home.
Imagine being on a massive gravel or mtb and this happening around you. This is the stuff of nightmares.
Hopefully this isnt the new norm, but I am sure like most dont have a great outlook.
Stay frosty
CN8 - out
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Very true, better way of putting it.
The community already knows who it was. Pics and vid circulating from their property moments after it got out of control. Their life will never be the same regardless of the punishment.
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Not that it needs saying⌠but Nine Mile River Trails is closed.
Might be a good time to hit up skateboard parks and bike parks, if one is looking to ride⌠as long as one stays out of the woods while there or going to/from.
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Prepping isnât a bad choice. Iâm not talking building a bunker but have a plan in place, have a grab bag and have some EDC.