The month of April was slightly above average for the teams of the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU). In recent months, SOPFEU has recorded 52 vegetation fires affecting 45.8 hectares of forest, which were caused by human activity.
In comparison, the average for the last ten years is 42.4 fires for an area of 27.2 hectares burned. In a press release, the protection organization mentions that despite the precipitation received in the form of rain or snow during the month of April, the water supply was distributed irregularly, which led to periods of drying out of the water. vegetation in different areas. The recorded forest fires also did not spare the regions of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Abitibi, Côte-Nord, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie, due in particular to the disappearance early snow cover across the entire territory.
Now more than ever, the burning of plant waste carried out during spring cleaning of land is responsible for several fires. In fact, of the 52 fires recorded in April, 23 are associated with this type of burning, or 44%. SOPFEU warns the population and instead invites them to recommend safe and ecological alternatives, such as composting, the collection of green waste and the deposit of residual materials at the ecocenter.
Remember that the organization launched its advertising campaign last week to encourage people to be extra careful in the days and weeks to come in order to “avoid avoidable fires”. SOPFEU also emphasizes that the month of May is one of the months when the greatest number of fires are recorded during the year.
