Quebec wildfires: Smog descended on Kanesatake

When Cindy Gabriel emerged from her house on Tuesday, the smog that thickened the air seemed apocalyptic.

“It smelled like burnt tires,” she said. “I was having a burning feeling in my throat and burning in my lungs, even though I don’t have lung problems.”

After multiple small fires in the Pines in past weeks vexed the community, wildfires elsewhere in the province tanked Kanesatake’s air quality for much of this week.

“The smog was really bad yesterday. Tough on the lungs and heart,” said Jennifer Lessard Cross on Wednesday. “Today wasn’t so bad.”

The community was suffering the effects of more than 150 wildfires in Quebec, more than 100 of which were considered out of control by the province as firefighting resources were stretched past their breaking point.

“It is something that’s very concerning for us at KHC (Kanesatake Health Center) on many levels,” said KHC executive director Teiawenhniserahte Tomlinson. “We are starting to see erratic weather patterns in all seasons, hotter than normal temperatures, droughts, and more and more wildfires.”

Those with asthma, heart problems, and other respiratory problems are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of smog, said Sante Montreal in a warning issued Monday in response to the wildfires.

“The social and health impacts of such events can be quite severe, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg because it relates to our one and only home,” said Tomlinson. “The natural world is evolving, and with that, there are major risks to humanity. In the long run, we are investing seriously in cultural revitalization as a means to heal our people and reconnect ourselves to our teachings and values, which are in harmony with the natural world.”

KHC will be keeping tabs on day-to-day impacts on the community’s health and responding within its mandate as needed, he said.

Forest fires have been on the minds of Kanehsata’kehro:non prior to the arrival of smoggy air, however, with multiple fires being reported in the Pines the past few weeks.

“It’s craziness,” said Gabriel. “I don’t know where those fires came from – if it was someone being reckless. The first time I heard of the fire it wasn’t so dry here, but with the pine needles on the floor of the forest, it’s always a risk, no matter what. People don’t think.

“It was scary to think that could have happened here.”

The KHC’s Racing for Wellness Under the Pines event is expected to go ahead as planned June 9, unless the air quality degrades again.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.