Quebec government lifts ban on open fires

The Quebec government announced Monday morning that it has ended its ban on open fires in or near a forest. The ban had been in effect since the end of May.

Despite this decision, made in collaboration with Quebec's forest fire agency SOPFEU, the fight against forest fires is not over. As of Monday afternoon there are 101 active fires in Quebec, including 22 in the southern part of the province according to SOPFEU.

Environment Canada was forecasting Monday morning that the chance of showers during the day would rise to 60 per cent in the north of Quebec where firefighters are tackling important fires, notably around the James Bay area.

Showers are expected in the evening and overnight, with the possibility of a thunderstorm. For Tuesday, as well as Wednesday night, the chance of showers is down to 40 per cent.

No sustained rain is expected.

No communities under threat

Over the weekend, SOPFEU said the flames didn't pose a direct threat to any communities or municipalities.

Firefighters have focused their operations in the northwestern Quebec town of Radisson to protect its airport from the fires, and in the localities of Wemindji, Waskaganish and Eastmain where flames were threatening critical access routes. 

Environment Canada maintained its poor air quality assessment on Monday for the James Bay region and some Cree communities due to the high concentration of fine particles coming from the forest fires in the air. It says those conditions may persist over the next few days. 

Inuit communities further north along the Hudson Bay — including Umiujaq, Kuujjuarapi and Inukjuak as well as Kuujuaq near Ungava Bay — are also being affected by poor air quality,

On Monday morning, Premier François Legault visited some of the communities affected by forest fires in northwestern Quebec such as Normétal, La Sarre and Lebel-sur-Quévillon. The fires burning in that region are currently under control, according to SOPFEU.