Today’s rainy weather helped reduce the intensity of the forest fires north of Port-Cartier. The conditions look favorable for the fight against Sopfeu, but less favorable for air quality.
The end-of-day report published by the City of Port-Cartier anticipates weather with relative humidity, light winds to come and more rain on Sunday. A clearing in the afternoon allowed Sopfeu to fly over the area to collect data that will help establish the right strategy.
The fires made little progress this Wednesday, June 26. Starting tomorrow, 260 Sopfeu employees will fight the fires on the North Shore. Four fires are prioritized, since they are located near communities and strategic infrastructures: Fire 211 at Lake Point-de-Guet out of control, Fire 212 at Lake Dufour which is contained, Fire 221 at Lake Morin out of control and Fire 214 32 km from Maliotenam-Sept-Îles to Lac des Libellules.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has lifted the ban on open fires everywhere in Quebec, except in the MRC Sept-Rivières, Minganie and Basse-Côte-Nord.
Air quality
The air quality will be poor tomorrow and possibly also Friday in the Sept-Rivières area. Côte-Nord Public Health has published a press release which reiterates a series of advice.
It recommends that the population reduce exposure to forest fire smoke. The smoke plume can have health impacts particularly on babies and preschool children, pregnant women, people aged 65 or over, people with respiratory diseases (asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis) and people with heart problems or diabetes.
For the indoor environment, it is advisable to close windows and exterior doors. People who have a portable air conditioner or heat pump can continue to use it because they do not bring in outside air.
It is best to turn off the air exchanger or set it to recirculation mode. Portable air purifiers will be most effective in the room(s) where people spend the most time.
