How to contain and fight the wildfires that are engulfing northern Quebec and polluting the skies over part of the North American continent? Firefighters who are experts in these types of large fires have their own strategies to use depending on the intensity of the fire, terrain, winds, and the presence of bodies of water. Explanations.
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How does a forest fire spread?
The spread of the flames is aided by three elements: the wind, the vegetation and the relief of the land. The wind ignites the flames and drives them to move. In addition, it carries embers or glowing particles with it. As a result, the fire gains ground and even jumps over areas where there is nothing to burn, such as roads or rivers. Vegetation serves as fuel for the fire. The drier and more plentiful it is, the more the flames spread. As for unloading, it plays a role in the speed of fire movement: it progresses faster on uphill terrain and slows down on downhill terrain.
DOMINIC V./MY TOPO/VAT NEWS/QMI AGENCY
The risk of fire in Quebec’s forests continues to increase. According to the Society for the Protection of Forests from Fires (SOPFEU), many fires are currently active in North-du-Québec and the situation could get worse with no rain forecast for the next few days. Here is a photo dated Friday July 5, 2013. DOMINIC V./MY TOPO/TVA NEWS/AGENCE QMI
Strategy number 1: water
Quebec and Canada are fortunate to have plenty of lakes and rivers, so firefighters can rely on them in most cases. On site, the firefighters install pumps on the banks and transport the water through a network of pipes. In the air, the tanker planes fly over the lakes to load their huge tanks, which can hold up to 6000 liters of water. If the fire covers a small area, firefighters spray it from all sides. Otherwise, they wait for it to arrive by dousing the vulnerable areas with water to protect them from the flames.
Photo QMI Agency, Guy Martel
- Listen to Mario Dumont’s interview with Frédéric Verreault, Managing Director of Les Chantiers de Chibougamau Ltée above QUB radio :
Strategy number 2: remove fuel
In some cases, the response teams remove the fuel, ie the vegetation, in strategic places or in the path of the fire to stop it, as is the case in the case of the Kraft Nordic pulp and paper mill in Lebel-sur-Quévillon. To remove the vegetation, we can also use heavy machinery to dig trenches between the forest and the communes, as we did in Senneterre in Abitibi-Témiscamingue on Thursday. A strip of trees is uprooted and the earth turned over. It is calculated that the trench must have a width equal to 1.5 times the height of the flames.
Screenshot TVA Nouvelles.
A giant fire ditch in Senneterre: No effort is spared to protect Senneterre in Abitibi-Témiscamingue from impending forest fires. 8 June 2023. Screenshots from TVA Nouvelles.
Strategy number 3: Suppress fire with fire
Traditionally, the aborigines, but also the French shepherds, light return fire to clear vegetation in the path of the fire before it arrives to stop it. Known as tactical fire or burning, this technique is widely used in Australia due to the lack of water. Canadian fire experts were deployed there in 2020. Now it’s the turn of the French fire experts to help. This method also serves to preserve forests and thus prevent fires from starting.
- Listen to Mario Dumont’s interview with Guy Bérubé, fire investigator and vice president of the International Association of Arson Investigators QUB radio :
Why are some sectors abandoned?
“We will be forced to let Clova burn,” Prime Minister Legault said Monday, suggesting we were literally failing this village of Mauricie. But SOPFEU didn’t let Clova down. Ground work and helicopter spraying continued until the situation became too dangerous for firefighters. Rather, the prime minister pointed out that the tankers were deployed elsewhere since Quebec only has 17 of them. You must therefore give priority to protecting the most populated communities, the factories, the essential infrastructure, such as power lines. and streets, which are an important escape route in the event of an evacuation.
