Quebec firefighting crews get boost with hundreds of reinforcements arriving today | CBC News

Quebec’s firefighting crews are getting a boost as reinforcements start to arrive from across the country and abroad. 

The province’s forest fire agency said 54 firefighters from New Brunswick are arriving today, with 119 more arriving from the United States and 109 from France. Nova Scotia also sent four water bomber aircraft.

As of Thursday, about 800 people are fighting fires on the ground in the province, while a dozen water bombers and a dozen helicopters support them from the sky, said Public Security Minister François Bonnardel. More reinforcements will come from Portugal, Mexico and Spain in the next couple days, and the armed forces will send 40 new soldiers Friday.

Unlike local auxiliary firefighters, the reinforcements are already trained to fight forest fires and will be able to hit the ground as soon as they arrive, said Bonnardel.

Quebec is also looking at borrowing American equipment as the United States is also preoccupied by the smoke blowing into their territory. 

As of 11 a.m. Thursday, 137 fires were active, down from Wednesday’s 149, but most are still out of control. About 35 are being tamed by fire crews, said Bonnardel. 

“We’re not just crossing our fingers, this shows the professionalism of those on the ground,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “There have been no injuries in over a week, there have been deaths and no homes have burned down in Quebec thanks to this colossal effort.”

No new evacuations planned

Rain and cooler weather conditions have helped ease fires in the eastern side of the province, and Sept-Îles, a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec, ended its state of emergency. But western and northern Quebec have stayed dry with no rain forecast until Monday.

There is some concern for Normétal in Abitibi and its water treatment plant. Fires in the region are burning 500 meters away from the municipality’s doorstep. Bonnardel said the situation is being closely monitored and is mostly stable because of firefighter efforts. However, temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days.

Karine Pelletier, a spokesperson for the fire prevention agency known as SOPFEU, said it is confident it can keep the fire under control.

The government is also focusing efforts on Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., a northern municipality where 2,100 people were evacuated and where two separate large fires could merge. 

Other fires have erupted near the northern communities of Chibougamau and Mistissini.

It is estimated that more than 638,000 hectares of land have burned so far, and 12,600 people have fled their homes, most of them in the northern areas of the province, said Bonnardel.

A full list of evacuated municipalities can be found on the Quebec government’s website. No other evacuations are planned in the short-term, said Bonnardel, and it’s too soon to say when people will be able to go back home.

WATCH | Experts say some parts of province benefited from rainfall: 

How the weather is affecting Quebec’s forest fires and smog – and what will have to happen to make it all better

Environment Canada’s experts say some parts of the province benefited from rainfall this week, but the effects may only be temporary. For other areas, the situation may only get worse.