HALIFAX, Canada (AP) — A forest fire that forced miles of residents to abandon the week-long weekend will be contained in large parte debido a la lluvia, indicaron el sábado las autoridades de la province de Nueva Escocia, en la costa atlántica from Canada.

David Steeves, a forest resources technician with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural and Renewable Resources, said the fire in the Halifax area is 85% contained, covers 9.5 square kilometers (about 4 square miles) and is unlikely to expand due to a combination of firefighting efforts and precipitation.

News was also good across the province, where Premier Tim Houston said the total number of active wildfires had risen from 10 in the morning to five in the afternoon.

“If you go out, you’re going to see something beautiful: rain, and I hope a lot,” he said during an evening briefing.

The only fire that remains out of control is the one in Shelburne County, in the far southwest of the province, which remains “frightening”, Houston said.

The fire that broke out in the Halifax area on Sunday engulfed several housing estates, consuming about 200 structures, including 151 homes, and forcing the evacuation of more than 16,000 people.

Meanwhile, at the Shubenacadie Provincial Bushfire Center, north of Halifax, about 20 Canadian Armed Forces soldiers stood in the pouring rain outside a light armored vehicle.

Lt. Col. Michael Blanchette said the initial contingent from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick had arrived for a ‘fact finding mission’ to see what military support was needed in the firefighting effort .