Climate confinement, intentional fires, non-existent climate change… The forest fires ravaging certain regions of Quebec are fueling fake news on the Web. Overview.
1. No, there is no “climate confinement”
A theory circulating on social networks claims that the forest fires raging in Abitibi and on the North Shore are a first step towards “climate confinement”. Containment has indeed been recommended for the citizens of the Vallée-de-l’Or and Abitibi between June 3 at 6 p.m. and June 4 at 9 a.m. However, it was not compulsory and was aimed above all at protecting the most vulnerable populations, such as children or people with respiratory diseases.
“We get a lot of calls about this. Please note that since this is a recommendation and not a government decree, the SQ will not be called upon to enforce this advice, but encourages you, for your health and that of your loved ones, to follow these directives. “, indicated on Twitter the account of the North district of the Sûreté du Québec.
Followers of this fake news see a similarity between this supposed lockdown and the one that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Same narrative and propaganda as during COVID and experimental mRNA injections. Soon climate containment to save you and the planet, ”we could read on Twitter.
Same narrative and propaganda as during Covid and experimental mRNA injections
Soon climate confinement to save you and the planet. pic.twitter.com/2I4l7nK5LS
— DJELLE (@DJELLE_) June 2, 2023
2. No, SOPFEU did not start the fires
The Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) would have lit the fires itself: this is another of the theses surrounding the events of the last few days. This would have originated from a video of “controlled burning, carried out by firefighters in the West and which dates back a few years already”, mentions Karine Pelletier, prevention and communications officer for SOPFEU. In this video, a helicopter is seen throwing fire at sections of the forest. It has been taken up by various Internet users who mention in particular “here is the real reason for the fires”.
“The reality is that prescribed burning is a combat technique used in several provinces and states in an attempt to create a stop line to contain the fire. Fight fire with fire. It is the equivalent of a mechanized stop line, which is carried out with heavy machinery, the goal being to create a barrier by cutting the fuel,” she explains.
However, this technique is more rarely used in Quebec, confirmed SOPFEU. “Unlike other places and topographies, we have thousands of lakes and rivers.” To use the prescribed burning technique, experts must rely on weather conditions, type of vegetation, terrain characteristics and fire behavior, among others.
It was therefore neither SOPFEU nor the government that started the many fires in Quebec. “It’s a happy mix of lightning and human causes (campfires, cigarettes, mountain biking, forestry operations, etc.),” says Ms.me Peltier.
3. Yes, climate change has an impact
While June 5 was celebrated as World Environment Day, another, larger theory would have it that climate change does not exist. Thus, there would be no connection to be made with these forest fires. “The impact of climate change is already significant. However, the fire season is getting longer and longer, it starts earlier and earlier and the conditions conducive to fires are more and more severe”, however explained to the Duty Yan Boulanger, researcher in forest ecology at Natural Resources Canada.
Several politicians also highlighted the impacts of global warming during the day. “It’s really exceptional. It’s unheard of that there are so many. We can make the link with climate change, ”said the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, at a press conference on Monday.
For his part, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, expressed himself on Twitter: “Climate change has no borders. At home, we see their consequences, with wildfires, floods, extreme storms and melting glaciers. We must continue to act for the environment and the climate. This is what we do. »
SOPFEU recalls that climate change alone is not responsible for the events. “As far as climate change is concerned, we cannot make a direct cause and effect link, it is too complex a phenomenon. Let’s just say that last week, all the ingredients were there at the same time to create an explosive situation,” explains Karine Pelletier.
With Jasmine Legendre, Jonathan Allard and Alexandre Shields