This is not the time to burn your waste outside: the dry spring increases the risk of fire tenfold in the woods, warns the Society for the protection of forests against fire.
Posted at 6:40 p.m.
The fire danger index varies from “high” to “extreme” in southern Quebec, the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) announced on Sunday.
It is in the south-west of the province, in Outaouais and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, that the fire risks are the greatest, which is considered “extreme”. In the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Mauricie and Montreal, the danger index is “very high”. In the rest of southern Quebec, citizens must still be careful with a “high” index.
“There is little rain at the moment, and in addition there is fuel on the ground [comme des brindilles sèches]so there is a potential for it to ignite quickly,” explains Josée Poitras, SOPFEU prevention and communications officer.
Note that SOPFEU has not yet opened the weather stations in the other regions of Quebec, where the snow cover is still present.
Spring, season of fires
Spring is a season conducive to forest fires, underlines Mme Chests. It may seem counterintuitive when the ground is wet, but before vegetation has grown, the forest floor is covered with twigs and dry leaves that ignite easily.
This is therefore not the time to burn waste or vegetation, specifies Josée Poitras.
On last Saturday alone, 14 new fires were recorded by SOPFEU, in particular due to “burnings” made by citizens, it is specified on the company’s Facebook page.
So far this year, 54 different fires have affected 36.8 hectares of forest, details Mme Chests. On average, over the past ten years, 59 fires have burned 37.5 hectares of forest during the same period.
By way of comparison, the City of Montreal covers an area of 43,150 hectares.
The spring season is therefore following its “normal” course, according to Mme Chests.
To manage garden waste, SOPFEU recommends using techniques other than burning, such as composting or access to ecocentres.
The Society launched a campaign last Friday aimed at debunking the myths associated with spring fires. A series of capsules will be released over the next few months, and some have already been shared in the newspaper L’Éveil.
Southwestern United States on fire
More than 1 million hectares have already blazed huge brush fires that are ravaging New Mexico and Texas, in the southwestern United States. Drought and high winds amplified the fires. Thousands of people have had to flee their homes, while more than 3,000 firefighters and other emergency services are trying to bring the flames under control, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.