Quebec enters a “critical period” of the forest fire season | Forest fires in Canada

Even if Quebecers are not invaded by smoke, the ban on open fires decreed by the province on part of the territory marks the advent of a critical period for the forest fire season in Quebec, which has already begun. in the north of the province.

We are entering a part of the season where fires are spreading more aggressively, which means that fires will gain strength in dry conditions much more quickly than in the spring because the fuel is not the evensays Philippe Bergeron, communications prevention officer at SOPFEU, bluntly.

The north of the province is also host to a 308-hectare fire that is still uncontrolled near the Laforge 1 reservoir, in Jamésie, and is monopolizing resources, warns Mr. Bergeron.

Since the start of the week, we have seen a lot more activity.

Some 16 air tankers and teams are deployed, he adds. We were talking about operational capacity, that’s what we want to maintain. We don’t want everyone to be deployed at the same time to be able to respond if we have fires that are closer to our communities..

Manageable situation…for now

For the moment, SOPFEU affirms that the situation remains manageable. We want it to stay like this because we want to keep our operational capabilities as intact as possible because we are starting to see fires with greater intensity in northern Quebecindicates the spokesperson.

This is why he is asking for help from the population to avoid having to send resources further south.

Since 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nord-du-Québec have been affected by this ban on open fires, as have Outaouais, Côte-Nord, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the Laurentians, Mauricie, Lanaudière, Capitale-Nationale, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Chaudière-Appalaches.

Some municipalities may have stricter regulations regarding open fires. At that time, it is always the more severe regulation of the two that appliesreminds the prevention officer.

June and July decisive

A forestry expert warns that even if the number of fires is significantly lower than last year, the months of June and July will be decisive.

We had a very rapid start in March. Afterwards, things calmed down a lot even though the temperatures were still quite a bit above normal. We still had a lot of rain [en mai]explains Yan Boulanger, forest ecology researcher for Natural Resources Canada. This ensured that it kept the weather indices relatively lowspecifies the expert.

Hot temperatures for several consecutive days and little precipitation are expected over the coming weeks, particularly in Nord-du-Québec, warns Yan Boulanger.

Even if some regions lost up to 11% of their forest due to a historic level of activity last year, the risk remains high in 2024 according to the researcher. There is still a lot of fuel left to burn. The impact of last year is still very negligible at this level.

We could have weather conditions that are above normal regarding the danger of forest fires for the month of June and July for Quebec. For the rest of Canada, the season should be well underway in July and August, concludes Mr. Boulanger.

The campfire at the heart of morals

Obviously, many sites are subject to this ban at the Société des establishments de plein air du Québec (Sépaq) as well as in outfitters.

An awareness-raising operation is underway with customers, specifies Olivia Jacques, media relations advisor for the Sépaq. This very often takes place upon their arrival on the site. The sale of wood on site is also unavailable. We also have park rangers who visit the different sites occupied by customers.she adds.

According to Ms. Jacques, customers remain understanding. We understand that the campfire is at the heart of customer customs when we go camping. Unfortunately, we must also preserve our territories and we want to preserve our forests.

Recalcitrant people will not necessarily receive a fine, but the authorities will keep an eye on them.

With the collaboration of Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc