Smog from forest fires reaches several Quebec regions, including Montreal

Some 127 forest fires remain active in Quebec on Thursday morning, and their smoke is expected to cover a large part of the province during the day.

Environment Canada issued smog warnings for several areas of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Laurentians and the Outaouais early on Tuesday. The poor air quality is due to high concentrations of fine particles as a result of the forest fires, the agency said.

The smoke is then expected to reach the St. Lawrence Valley and Montreal in the morning. The whole of Quebec could feel it in the middle of the day, but the metropolitan region, Lanaudière and Mauricie will be the worst affected, according to the FireSmoke forecasting tool.

"Smog particularly affects asthmatic children and people with respiratory or heart conditions. They are therefore advised to avoid strenuous physical activity outdoors until the smog warning is lifted," reminds Environment Canada.

Although several fires have been brought under control, including the one near Fermont that broke out in recent days, others are still raging. This is particularly true of the fires near Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Mistissini, in Northern Quebec.

The 2,000 or so residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon remain evacuated. The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) estimated on Wednesday that between 300,000 and 350,000 hectares are in flames around the town.

In total, nearly 1.3 million hectares of forest have been affected by fires this year. That's 400 times more than the annual average for the last 10 years.

During a visit to Saguenay on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada can count on reinforcements from foreign firefighters this summer.

A total of 1,200 firefighters are at work in Quebec, including New Brunswickers, French, Americans, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Quebec public security minister and SOPFEU are due to provide an update on the state of the forest fires at around 10:30 am on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 15, 2023.