Smog warning over Montreal as wildfires continue

MONTREAL – Southern and western Quebec are under smog due to forest fires on Friday. Some 104 fires are still burning, particularly in Nord-du-Québec and Abitibi.

Air quality was particularly poor in the Montreal region, the Laurentians and Gatineau early Friday morning, according to the air quality index of the Quebec Environment Ministry.

Environment Canada reminds us that asthmatic children and people with respiratory or cardiac illnesses are the most affected by smog. They are therefore advised to avoid strenuous outdoor activity until the warning is lifted, says the agency.

In Nord-du-Québec, the 2,000 or so residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon got some good news on Friday. Under an evacuation order for the past two weeks, they will be able to return home Sunday. The news was confirmed during a press briefing by Mayor Guy Lafrenière Friday morning.

He noted that measures to secure the town’s kraft pulp mill, Nordic Kraft, have been effective.

Other communities in the vicinity of forest fires remain on high alert, however, with the Quebec forest fire prevention agency – SOPFEU – emphasizing on Thursday evening that “there is currently no imminent threat to the towns of Chibougamau and Chapais, or to the community of Oujé-Bougoumou, that would require their authorities to order an evacuation”.

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Of the 104 active fires in Quebec, including some 20 in northern zones, SOPFEU counted 26 that remained uncontrolled on Friday morning. Of these, fire numbers 344 and 334, near Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Mistissini respectively, cover the largest areas.

In all, more than 1.3 million hectares of forest were affected by fire in Quebec this year. That’s 400 times more than the annual average for the past 10 years.

On Thursday, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said at a press briefing that “the worst may not be behind us, but it may be ahead of us”.

The Minister was referring to forecasts by scientists at Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada, according to whom “we’re likely to have a very dry, very hot summer and, therefore, very favourable conditions for more forest fires”.

Yet Canada is already at its worst, with wildfires ravaging 5.7 million hectares of forest – the equivalent of three times the size of Lake Ontario – which, as of mid-June, is already more than double the average annual area of 2.7 million hectares over the past decade.

A total of 447 fires were active in Canada on Friday morning, including 81 in Alberta, 70 in British Columbia and 57 in Ontario, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 16, 2023.