At the dawn of what promises to be a particularly hot week, Quebec is banning open fires in several parts of the eastern part of the province starting Monday.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, together with the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU), said the decision was a result of “prevailing conditions in the coming days”.
The ban will come into force from 8 am on Monday. The sectors targeted by this action correspond to the following MRCs and territories:
- Upper North Shore
- Manikogan
- Sept-Rivers
- Caniapiscau (for its part south of latitude 52°30)
- Mingani – including Anticosti Island
- Gulf of St. Lawrence
- Le Rocher-Perche
- Cote-de-Gaspey
- Hot-Caspesi
- Bonaventure
“To respect the ban on open fires in forests, everyone’s cooperation is necessary. The move is aimed at curbing the risk of forest fires,” the ministry said in a press release.
As of Sunday evening, five fires were active in the critical battle zone, all in the North Coast region. 16,945 hectares of forests have been affected by 245 forest fires since the start of the season.
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