The Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks has banned starting this Tuesday from conducting open fires in Quebec in forests or near almost all inhabited regions.
This decision, announced Monday night in collaboration with the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), was taken due to weather conditions that developed in some sectors of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Capitale-Nationale, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
For several days, Quebec was deprived of rain and Environment Canada’s weather forecasts announced dry weather for several days in some regions, increasing the risk of forest fires.
Currently, 12 fires are active in Quebec, mainly in the northern region, from Abitibi-Témiscamingue to the North Shore, in the east.
Since the protection period began, SOPFEU has reported that 138 forest fires have affected 114.2 hectares.
The average of the last ten years on the same date was 102 fires for an area of 82.4 hectares.
Source: Radio-Canada
