Firefighters make progress, bring some Quebec wildfires under control
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Wildfires in northern Quebec on June 5. The Quebec authorities said the number of out-of-control fires has decreased.
PHOTO: AFP
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WINNIPEG, Manitoba - The number of wildfires raging out of control across Quebec
Quebec Natural Resources Minister Maite Blanchette Vezina told reporters that the number of out-of-control fires in the eastern province dropped to 44 from 72 on Saturday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Canada is enduring its worst-ever spring fire season
By Monday, around 1,200 firefighters, including more than 100 from France and some from other provinces, were expected to be battling blazes across Quebec.
“With the resources we got from France and New Brunswick, the situation is more safe,” Ms Blanchette Vezina said, adding that the authorities were not yet ready to send many evacuated residents home.
A federal government meteorologist forecast on Saturday that Quebec could receive light rain
In Alberta, the provincial government warned that fires were becoming increasingly unpredictable and moving closer to the evacuated town of Edson, 200km west of the provincial capital Edmonton.
A fire south of Edson is growing and now spans 204,000ha, local officials said in an online update on Sunday.
“Last Wednesday, we thought we could close down our emergency control centre and come Friday, that idea went out the door when the fires went out of control very drastically,” said Mr Luc Mercier, chief administrative officer for Yellowhead County.
The Pacific province of British Columbia is also fighting a large number of fires, including one that has burned within 4km of the north-eastern community of Tumbler Ridge.
Shifting winds have helped firefighters battle that blaze in the Rocky Mountain foothills, but warmer, drier temperatures on Sunday may cause the fire to grow, said Ms Karley Desrosiers, information officer for BC Wildfire Service. REUTERS
