All forest fires contained or under control in Quebec protection zone

All the forest fires still active in the intensive protection zone in Quebec are “contained or controlled” and “firefighting operations are progressing smoothly,” according to the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU)

On Tuesday morning, SOPFEU listed eight forest fires on its interactive map in Quebec. One of them, in the MRC of Manicouagan, was contained, while the other seven were under control.

A fire is said to be contained when its spread is temporarily stopped, while it is controlled once its spread is stopped by a suppression line.

This situation has meant the ban on fires in or near forests, which was put in place last week for sectors of Nord-du-Québec, Côte-Nord, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, could be completely lifted Monday afternoon.

Some fires remain under surveillance, and SOPFEU operations on the ground continue. The situation is a little more challenging in the northern zone, where 63 fires are active.

Fire 340, located mainly in Labrador territory, crossed the Quebec border last weekend.

Control operations began in the last few days, including with air tankers, but favourable weather conditions meant it did not approach the town of Fermont.

An evacuation pre-alert was put in place in Fermont last weekend, but it was lifted on Sunday when the risks were “considerably reduced” due to the intensity and direction of the winds, showers and relative humidity.

The fire is now considered contained.

Since the start of the fire season, SOPFEU has recorded 238 fires in the intensive protection zone, which is lower than the 10-year average of 332. There have been 125 fires in the northern zone.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews