As what promises to be a particularly hot week approaches, Quebec is banning open-air fires in several areas of the eastern part of the province starting Monday.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests specifies that this decision, taken in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU), results from “the conditions that will prevail in the coming days.”
The ban will come into effect Monday at 8 a.m. The areas affected by this measure correspond to the following RCMs and territories:
- The Upper North Shore
- Manicouagan
- Seven Rivers
- Caniapiscau (for its portion south of latitude 52°30)
- Minganie – including Anticosti Island
- The Gulf of St. Lawrence
- The Perce Rock
- The Gaspé Coast
- Upper Gaspé
- Bonaventure
“The cooperation of all is essential to ensure that the ban on open fires in the forest is respected. This measure aims to limit the risks of forest fires,” the ministry said in a press release.
As of Sunday evening, five fires were active in the intensive combat zone, all in the Côte-Nord region. Since the start of the season, 245 forest fires have affected 16,945 hectares of forest.