(Montreal) The high temperatures announced this week in Quebec suggest that the next few days will be critical, according to the Society for the Protection of Forests against Fire (SOPFEU), which calls on the population to be careful. Citizens should avoid lighting fires outdoors until at least Thursday.
“When SOPFEU calls for caution […] it really means that in the next few days it’s critical, and that not only will there be easy fire starts, but if it happens, it could cause fires with good spread and good intensity, “says Stéphane Caron. , SOPFEU spokesperson.
The organization asks the population to put out their campfires properly, and to use smokers’ articles with caution in the forest. SOPFEU also recommends not to burn waste or residual materials.
“Even in the use of all-terrain vehicles, an ATV, we will ask people to stay on marked trails, and not to travel off-road, on trails where there will be dry brush, which could easily be flammable, because hot engine parts, such as the muffler, can ignite brush,” explains Mr. Caron.
Since mid-April, 152 fires have been recorded by SOPFEU in Quebec, affecting 142.5 hectares of forest. A new upward trend in the number of forest fires in the province is also observed.
“For the past thirty years, there has been a reduction in the number of fires, which is quite significant, says Stéphane Caron. We don’t know if it’s something that will take hold, especially with climate change, but we’ve seen a new upward trend over the past five or six years. »
On average, the organization lists 179 fires at this time of year.
SOPFEU renews its aid to Alberta
SOPFEU announced this week that it will renew its aid to Alberta, which still has to deal with major forest fires. About twenty new firefighters were deployed in the province on Saturday, to take over from those who are back in Quebec.
Stéphane Caron underlines that the situation in Alberta has improved, but that it remains “significant”.
“What you need to know is that when there have been, in a place like Alberta, a lot of fires at the same time, with fires out of control, there is a lot of work to ensure that all these lights are off, because you have to check each of the lights, by checking each of the hot spots,” explains the SOPFEU spokesperson.
Resources are therefore necessary in order to carry out all of the extinguishing work, specifies Mr. Caron. “For the rest, we’ll see if the weather will go in the right direction for them,” he said.
Alberta officials, however, warned Saturday that hot, dry conditions are expected this weekend in some areas, keeping the province on its toes.
Quebec has so far loaned Alberta 52 wildland firefighters, a major fire management team of 12 specialists, an information officer, three agency representatives and combat equipment, said SOPFEU by press release.
This dispatch was produced with financial assistance from the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for News.