With more than 200 active fires in the north of the province and one out of control near Matagami, SOPFEU is in emergency mode at the dawn of the high tourism season.
About a hundred wildland firefighters from other Canadian provinces have arrived or will soon arrive as reinforcements, bringing the total number of personnel to 900, “not including aircraft pilots.”
“For now, we have turned to our colleagues in Canada (…),” confirms Stéphane Caron, SOPFEU coordinator at LCN.
These fires are located in concentrated areas, meaning they are close to populated areas, as is the case in northern Matagami, where the fire remains uncontrolled, forcing authorities to ban all access to the forest.
Estrie and Morisi are also considered “high risk”.
SOPFEU is counting on people’s cooperation to prevent a fire, given this exceptional situation.
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