Restrictions in effect due to forest fires in Quebec

Forest restrictions have been imposed in Northern Quebec due to the risk of forest fires, which have already affected several areas of the province in June.

Since Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Public Security has banned traffic in the forest and access to it in the territory around fire 284, which is located about 85 km northwest of Matagami.

The municipality affected is Eeyou Istchee James Bay, the ministry said in a statement.

The decision was made in collaboration with the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) and the government coordination structure for civil security.

The ministry also reminded that anyone who does not comply with an order prohibiting people from walking in or accessing the forest is liable to a fine, in addition to paying the costs.

Currently, 195 fires are active in Quebec, including 13 in the intensive protection zone, SOPFEU said.

“Many of these fires burn deep in the ground, which makes it longer for them to be extinguished,” the organization said in a statement.

Firefighters from other provinces have been called in to support the firefighting operations.

63 forest firefighters from British Columbia arrived in Quebec on Friday, while 21 others from New Brunswick and 17 from Prince Edward Island landed on Saturday.

A month of June under lightning

If the beginning of June had started under good auspices, it ended “under the sign of lightning,” SOPFEU reported.

“During the last week of June, more than a hundred forest fires broke out in northern Quebec following repeated storms,” she said.

219 fires were recorded during the month, including 74 in the intensive protection zone (ZPI) and 145 in the northern zone (ZN).

The regions of Nord-du-Québec and Côte-Nord were the hardest hit, after being marked “by abnormally high temperatures and anticyclonic blockages.”

These conditions then favoured a significant drying up of forest fuels, which was conducive to the outbreak of fires.

In the intensive protection zone, 74 fires affected 17,476.1 hectares of forest. Of these, 41 per cent were caused by lightning.

In terms of man-made causes, five fires were caused by cigarette butts, five by campfires, five by electrical wires and two by house burns.

In the northern zone, 145 fires burned 140,958.5 hectares of forest in June.

“This is an exceptional situation, as the average of the last ten years for this same period is only 17 fires,” said SOPFEU.

The numerous fires also generated large plumes of smoke, perceptible as far away as the Gaspé Peninsula.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews