Nova Scotia Wildfire Season Ends With Sharp Drop in Area Burned Despite Higher Fire Count
Nova Scotia's 2026 wildfire season saw 114 fires burn 1,521 hectares, a significant decrease from 2025 despite recording more than twice as many wildfires by mid-July. Provincial investments in aircraft and mutual aid from Newfoundland and Labrador supported response efforts.
Nova Scotia’s 2026 wildfire season, which ran from March 15 to October 15, concluded with crews responding to 114 wildfires that burned a total of 1,521 hectares. This represents a significant decrease in the area burned compared to the 2025 season, when 148 wildfires scorched 8,114 hectares across the province. The reduction came even though Nova Scotia had recorded more than twice as many wildfires by mid-July 2026 as it had by the same point in 2025.
The most severe incident of the season occurred in July near Mooseland Road in Halifax County. That fire burned 1,444 hectares and prompted evacuations before being deemed under control after two weeks.
Provincial investments played a central role in the 2026 response. The government announced $6.8 million in wildfire response funding in the 2026-27 budget. A separate $6.5-million aircraft contract secured four Air Tractor AT-802 water bombers and one Cessna Caravan Bird Dog co-ordination plane. Additionally, four new Airbus H125 helicopters were added to the province’s wildfire-fighting capacity this year.
These assets were deployed throughout the season. The AT-802 water bombers made 84 drops across four wildfires, including 68 drops at the Mooseland Road site alone.
Mutual aid from Newfoundland and Labrador also supported wildfire responses in Shelburne, Annapolis, and near Mooseland Road.
Premier Tim Houston thanked aviation services teams, pilots, wildfire staff, firefighters, conservation officers, and partners for their role in keeping communities safe. Minister of Natural Resources Tory Rushton stated that the expanded air fleets helped crews reach fires quickly and credited the skill and dedication of the personnel involved.