The forest fire protection agency of Quebec, SOPFEU, said in the morning that the number of wildfires in the Quebec area was 52, some of this fires are still totally out of control.
The majority of the fires is concentrated in the St. Lawrence Valley zone, which is a heavily populated zone, however the central Quebec area is not safe eighter.Because of the heavy winds new wildfires are beginning and the smoke from the existing ones is steered into New England and St. Lawrence Valley.
That smoky haze in the air around North Grenville this morning isn’t from a local fire.Forest fires in northern Quebec are the cause of the light haze, said Kemptville OPP Const. Cathy Lindsey.
“It’s pretty strong. It is in the air,” Lindsey told the Recorder and Times about 9 a.m. today.Portland polices said that they started to receive smoke alarm calls from midday. It is hoped for Monday afternoon that the wind will shift, steering the smoke away from New England and St. Lawrence Valley.
Quebec authorities are hoping that on Tuesday morning a heavy spread rain will begin over the Quebec area, this could help the firefighters efforts, how ever it very well could spark new fires with lightnings. It also may happen that the much needed rain will keep away from Quebec, Canada. That smoky haze in the air around North Grenville this morning isn't from a local fire.Forest fires in northern Quebec are the cause of the light haze, said Kemptville OPP Const. Cathy Lindsey.
"It's pretty strong. It is in the air," Lindsey told the Recorder and Times about 9 a.m. today. She said the smoke is being blown toward the area by a southeast wind. It is noticeable, but doesn't hamper visibility for motorists, she said.
"It's not interfering with visibility and there have been no incidents related to the smoke."However, the haze and smell of smoke leave the impression there is a local fire when that isn't the case, said Lindsey. She said the smoky haze was evident in Kemptville and throughout northern Grenville County as far south as Merrickville.
Close to 60 forest fires, including 11 that were declared out of control, were raging across 65,000 hectares of forest in the north and central parts of Quebec on Sunday, according to news reports.Much of the activity is located about 300 kilometres north of Trois Rivieres, but thick smoke forced the evacuation of 1,000 residents of Manawan in the Laurentians.
