Dozens of American and French firefighters are arriving in Quebec to help SOPFEU fight the forest fires raging in the province.
As of Saturday, SOPFEU reported over 160 active fires, the vast majority of which were located in the northern zone, above the 50th parallel. Forest firefighters were deployed in Northern Quebec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and the North Shore.
“We have nearly a thousand resources mobilized all over the place,” said Léa Bédard-Beaulieu, spokesperson for SOPFEU, who specified that the organization’s intervention capacity is saturated, despite the aid sent by other Canadian provinces.
In addition to the dozens of firefighters from New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia and Prince Edward who are already battling the flames in Quebec, there are 18 firefighters from the United States and 43 forest firefighters from France.
American reinforcements arrived Friday from Maine, Connecticut, and New Hampshire under the Northeast States Pact on Wildfire Protection, while French firefighters are arriving Saturday. The latter are the result of an agreement with the International Forestry Service Unit, a private organization.
According to SOPFEU, the number of fires raging in northern Quebec is well above normal.
“The 10-year average, on the same date, is 50 fires, but since the beginning of the year, we have had 277,” Bédard-Beaulieu pointed out.
As for the number of fires “in intensive protection zone”, which includes regions south of the fiftieth parallel, SOPFEU indicates that it is within seasonal averages.
Bédard-Beaulieu reminded everyone to respect the open-fire bans in effect in western Quebec, which apply to the Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Outaouais, Lanaudière, Laurentians, and Northern Quebec regions. The ban must be respected, even in the event of rain, the spokesperson emphasized.
“Our appeal to the public is to respect these preventative measures, because we cannot afford at this time to add human-caused fires to the situation. We are already at full capacity,” said Bédard-Beaulieu.
Smoke warning
Smoke from the 200 reported forest fires in Ontario is moving towards Quebec and risks affecting air quality in some areas.
Environment Canada has issued a yellow alert for poor air quality in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Outaouais and southwestern Northern Quebec.
The agency calculates that the health risks will be high on Saturday for those living in the Gatineau area. “Reduce or reorganize strenuous outdoor activities. Children and seniors should also moderate their activities,” reads the Environment Canada website.
Although Montreal is not yet under an air quality warning, Environment Canada predicts that air quality will decline throughout the day on Saturday. High health risks are expected in the evening and overnight.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reports 950 active fires across the country, 78 of which were reported to have started on Saturday. Smoke plumes from these Canadian blazes are also drifting south of the border, impacting air quality in more areas of the United States.
President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to raise tariffs against Canada because of smoke from the forest fires in Ontario.
“We hold Canada responsible for not properly maintaining its forests and the vegetation within them, and for the United States being needlessly invaded by dirty, polluted, and unhealthy air of dangerous and totally unacceptable quality!” the president said.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
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