The investigation into a forest fire that destroyed eight homes in the Spryfield area this spring is over and no charges will be laid.And, here's what I said, May 4:The Department of Natural Resources investigated the fire with help from Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Service and Halifax Regional Police.
They found that an unextinguished campfire on the west bank of MacIntosh Run north of Roaches Pond briefly got out of control until firefighters arrived and doused the flames on April 29.
However, it flared up again the next day and was pushed by very strong winds. Low humidity and dry woods also contributed to the rapidly growing fire.
I've identified the likely cause of the Spryfield fire: a campfire on a small rise overlooking McIntosh Run, the creek that runs south of Spryfield.[Photo credit: Kevin Cunningham]
Editor's note: The following was issued by The Coast on April 13, 2010.
APOLOGY
On October 1, 2009, The Coast posted an article on our website entitled "Fire investigators confirm Coast analysis of Spryfield fire." As with all of our stories, readers were invited to comment on the article. Unfortunately, several readers took this opportunity to write defamatory comments about Halifax Regional Municipality Fire Services Chief Bill Mosher and Deputy Chief Steve Thurber.
These comments were completely unsubstantiated and have harmed the reputations of Chief Mosher and Deputy Chief Thurber. The Coast sincerely apologizes to Chief Mosher and Deputy Chief Thurber for the damage to their reputations and the pain and suffering they have endured as a result of the defamatory comments which The Coast permitted to be posted on its website.
The postings have been removed from our website. As a consequence of the abuse of our comments policy, further comment posting in respect to this story will not be accepted.
