All the forest fires that are still active in the intensive protection zone in Quebec are “contained or under control”, which leads the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) to say that “fighting operations are progressing smoothly”.
On Tuesday morning, SOPFEU listed eight forest fires on its interactive map. Only one of them, in the MRC of Manicouagan, was contained, while the other seven were under control.
A fire is said to be contained when its spread is temporarily stopped, while it is said to be controlled once its spread is stopped by a suppression line.
This situation meant that the ban on open-air fires in or near forests, which had been put in place last week for areas of Nord-du-Québec, Côte-Nord, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue, was completely lifted on Monday afternoon.
Some fires remain under surveillance, however, and SOPFEU operations on the ground continue. The situation is a little more difficult in the northern zone, where 63 fires are active.
Fire 340, located mainly in the Labrador territory, crossed the Quebec border last weekend.
Control operations began in recent days, including with air tankers, but favorable weather conditions meant that it did not approach the town of Fermont.
An evacuation warning had been put in place in Fermont last weekend, but it was lifted Sunday when the risks were “significantly reduced” due to the intensity and direction of the winds, showers and relative humidity.
The fire is now considered contained.
Since the start of the fire season, SOPFEU has recorded 238 fires in the intensive protection zone, which is lower than the 10-year average of 332. There have been 125 fires in the northern zone.