President Joe Biden pledged additional help for Canada as wildfires fume, especially in Quebec, causing unhealthy air quality levels throughout much of the Eastern U.S.
In a readout of a call between President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the president “directed his team to deploy all available Federal firefighting assets that can rapidly assist in suppressing fires impacting Canadian and American communities.”
The White House said 600 firefighters and support personnel have been sent to Canada.
Vedant Patel, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said the over 600 personnel came from the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. He said this is in addition to several states sending help to Canada.
“The U.S. is supporting Canada as it faces extreme wildfires, which based on our assessments is on track to be one of the largest natural disasters in Canadian history,” Patel said.
Smoke from the Quebec fires can be seen live here.
Lightening strikes that caused the fires seemingly immediately can be seen here.
From the NASA Earth Observatory
Smoke from the blazes prompted air quality warnings across Quebec and Ontario. On June 4, the air quality index for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) was classified as unhealthy in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario, according to NOAA’s Aerosol Watch. Fine particulate matter from the smoke blew down to the U.S. Midwest, where it made the air quality unhealthy for sensitive groups in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.
Fire season in Quebec usually starts in late May. In an average year, only 247 hectares (a square mile) of area would be burned by June 5, according to Quebec’s fire prevention agency (SOPFEU). But so far this year, 160,000 hectares (600 square miles) have burned.
The fire prevention agency said the fierce start to the season has in part been due to high temperatures and dry conditions in the province.
How have the residents of Quebec fared in the fire zones? Not well, according to Castanet. The Cree, in particular, are at risk.
About 11,400 people have already been forced from their homes because of persistent and unpredictable wildfires, Premier François Legault told reporters in Quebec City. The northern Cree town of Mistissini, located 550 kilometres north of Montreal, would likely be evacuated later on Wednesday, resulting in another 4,000 people added to the evacuee list, the premier said.
The most troublesome areas, he said, were in northern Quebec and in the western Abitibi region, where significant rainfall wasn't expected until Monday. Residents shouldn't expect to be able to return home before the middle of next week, Legault said.
"I want us all to be realistic so that we don't see things through rose-coloured glasses," the premier said. "For the moment, we do not expect rain for the next few days."
Evacuation orders were issued Tuesday night for the northern Quebec town of Chibougamau and the nearby Cree community of Oujé-Bougoumou. The northern town of Chapais, Que., risked being evacuated again, and some parts of Senneterre, Que., were also threatened by the flames, Legault said.
Chapais Mayor Isabelle Lessard asked residents to be prepared to leave if the situation deteriorates, adding Wednesday that residents would be offered shelter in St-Félicien, Que., about 250 kilometres southeast. About 800 people from the town's southern sector were forced from their homes for five days last week.
On Tuesday, Chibougamau Mayor Manon Cyr asked the town's roughly 7,500 residents to gather in Roberval, Que. — about 250 kilometres away — if they didn't have friends or family elsewhere who could take them in. In Oujé-Bougoumou, about 800 people were ordered to leave and advised that shelter would be provided nearly 400 kilometres to the southeast, in Chicoutimi, Que.
Quebec's forest fire prevention agency — Société de protection des forêts contre le feu — said Wednesday more than 150 forest fires were burning and slightly under 100 of them were considered out of control. More than 457,000 hectares have burned so far this season, the most since the province started keeping records.
"In the history of (the agency) — nearly 50 years — we've surpassed the worst year on record," Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette-Vézina said. "It's a situation that's unprecedented."
I have been watching Morning Joe this morning, and they have covered the wildfires. Mika seemed to be most concerned that Laguarida had shut down. Mike Barnicle laughs at reports that people are wearing masks. Joe won’t talk about it. Lemire and Willis dance around the issue of climate change. Not one mentioned heat or drought. And here we are. The media is useless for the challenges of today.
On Twitter, the climate trolls Musk unleashed on the platform are furiously attempting to blame everything but the climate emergency.