Alberta firefighters among those sent to help Quebec battle July wildfires
Quebec saw above-average wildfire activity in July, with lightning strikes driving most of the blazes across the province.
Why it matters
Alberta firefighters were deployed to help Quebec, reflecting the province's ongoing role in interprovincial wildfire mutual aid during a busy national fire season.
Quebec's wildfire protection agency, SOPFEU, reported 90 wildfires in the province in July, burning 1,675 hectares of forest, above the recent average of 66 fires and 1,115 hectares for the month. The agency said 41 per cent of the fires were sparked by lightning, the leading cause, while improperly extinguished campfires accounted for 16 per cent, with the remainder tied to forestry and industrial activity, smoking materials, electrical wires and waste burning.
More than 220 wildland firefighters from outside Quebec helped battle the blazes, including crews from Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, along with personnel from the United States.
SOPFEU attributed the busy month to slightly above-normal temperatures, below-average precipitation in western Quebec and the North Shore, and sustained winds that fueled intense thunderstorm activity. The agency recorded 243,363 lightning strikes across the province in July, nearly triple the average of the past seven years. The fires were concentrated mainly in northern Quebec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the North Shore and the Outaouais.
By the end of July, Quebec's wildfire situation was described as under control, allowing the province to redirect firefighting teams to British Columbia, which was dealing with numerous active wildfires.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.