Forest fires continue to rage across Quebec

More than 60 forest fires are burning across Quebec, 12 of which are out of control, reports the Montreal Gazette.The Abitibi region in northern Quebec and the Haute-Maurice region, north of Trois Rivieres, are the two most active areas. Approximately 30,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed so far.The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), the provincial fire prevention agency, says lightning strikes caused the fires. A long, dry heat wave left the province vulnerable, SOPFEU adds. As of May 28, more than 1,400 people were evacuated from their homes on the Wemotaci First Nation reserve because of the blaze, cbc.ca reports.Glenn McGillivray, managing director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), says the very dry conditions across most of the country this year call for great vigilance on the wildfire front.”Canadian P&C insurers are out front on this issue, and ICLR is helping by providing advice on identifying properties that are at greater risk of wildfire damage and providing measures that can be taken to reduce the risk,” McGillivray says.This is done through Partners in Protection’s FireSmart program, he says. The program works to make residents of wildland/urban interface areas more aware of the problems related to wildfire and the preventative actions required to augment the efforts of organized fire-fighting services.”Fires like the ones currently burning in Wemotaci need not result in catastrophe,” McGillivray added.