Nova Scotia offers up to $3,000 to wildfire evacuees in Kings County

The Nova Scotia government is offering financial support to Kings County residents who have been forced to evacuate their homes because of the wildfire near Lake George.

Officials say more than 350 properties have been evacuated in the area near Aylesford, N.S., in the Annapolis Valley. On Tuesday, the province said it would give up to $3,000 per person forced from their primary residence.

“This has been an incredibly challenging wildfire season, and the last thing we wanted was to have Nova Scotians face another evacuation,” Minister of Emergency Management Kim Masland said in a statement. A separate fire burned for almost four weeks this summer around West Dalhousie, N.S., destroying 20 homes and forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 people.

The Lake George blaze, fuelled by unseasonably warm and dry conditions, covers about 2.9 square kilometres of land. Officials say crews are working hard to protect structures in the area, and none had been destroyed as of noon Tuesday.

There are 85 Nova Scotia firefighters working on the blaze, with assistance from 39 firefighters from B.C. and aircraft from Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories.

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The government is offering $500 per adult and $200 per youth who have been displaced from their primary residence for between four and seven days. Adults can receive an additional $500 and youth an extra $200 if the evacuation lasts between eight and 14 days.

If the blaze keeps people out of their homes for more than 15 days, adults can get an additional $250 per week, and youth $200 more per week. The maximum amount of financial support is $3,000 per adult and $1,750 per youth.

Funding will be available until the evacuation order is lifted or until the wildfire season is officially over on Oct. 31, whichever comes first.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.