One hundred Quebec wildland firefighters will be deployed starting Thursday to Manitoba and Saskatchewan, two provinces that continue to face numerous forest fires.
Specifically, 60 wildland firefighters will travel to Manitoba, while another 40 will head to Saskatchewan. They will be accompanied by four representatives of the Société de Protection des Forêts Contre le Feu (SOPFEU).
They are scheduled to depart Thursday morning from Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City and the Val-d’Or Regional Airport.
While Quebec is enjoying a relatively modest wildfire season, the opposite is true elsewhere in the country.
As of Monday, there were 121 active wildfires burning in Manitoba, 12 of which were considered out of control. Approximately 13,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in that province due to the fires.
In Saskatchewan, as of Tuesday, there were 49 active forest fires, 14 of which were not contained. Eleven communities are currently under evacuation orders.
This deployment of 100 wildland firefighters is in addition to the measures implemented by SOPFEU and the Quebec government to assist other provinces.
Since the beginning of the summer season, Quebec has provided assistance to several provinces by sending, among other things, air tankers, pilots, technicians, and hoses.
On Monday, two air tankers from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility’s Government Air Service and their crews flew to Newfoundland and Labrador.
SOPFEU assures that it is able to provide assistance to other provinces without compromising its ability to manage the situation in Quebec. According to the agency, higher humidity levels and recent precipitation have ensured that the situation is stable in Quebec.
There is currently only one active fire in Quebec. Since the beginning of the season, SOPFEU has fought 148 fires in its intensive protection zone, while the average for the last 10 years is 352 fires at this time.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
