(Montreal) The long-term weather forecast released by Environment Canada on Friday morning offered little encouragement to residents of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue and North du Quebec regions, who wish for a long period of sustained rain. Come and help extinguish the many raging forest fires.
Meteorologists wrote that the weekend is expected to be mostly sunny and warm in most communities in the affected regions, with only occasional showers and intermittent rain for the next week through Thursday.
According to the federal agency, hot and dry weather in Chibougamau will continue through Monday, although there will be slight, gradual declines in mercury. A few showers are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, while rain is forecast for Thursday.
In the Rouyn-Noranda, Amos and LaSarre regions little rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday after a sunny weekend, but heavier rains could occur on Wednesday. The commune of Normétal is near LaSarre, which is again threatened by a forest fire.
Further east, in Haute-Mauricie, rain is expected in La Tuque on Wednesday and Thursday. Further north, in the Matagami region and in Jamésie, forecasts predict only intermittent rain, particularly in the Waskaganish region.
Rain is expected in Val-d’Or on Wednesday, in an area not threatened by the wildfires on Friday. The residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, who had received the order to evacuate their community, also made their way towards Val-d’Or on Thursday.
Residents of the Cree community of Mistissini, northeast of Chibougamau, must vacate their territory this Friday. The approximately 3,800 Aboriginal people will be sent to Saguenay, but members of the Cree nation with fragile health conditions were evacuated to Quebec last Wednesday morning.
On Thursday, Environment Canada reported that northwest Quebec’s rainfall deficit is now more than a month below the seasonal average. The last significant rainfall was recorded in early May.
On the other hand, Environment Canada claimed on Friday that smoke from the wildfires has put numerous communities under smog alerts and the federal agency has issued several alerts about poor air quality.
The spread of the smoke caused several other regions to be the subject of air quality reports, including Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the island of Anticosti and all of the Côte-Nord to Blanc-Sablon.
Environment Canada reminds that wildfire smoke can be harmful to everyone’s health, even when concentrations of particulate matter are low. People with lung or heart disease, the elderly, children, pregnant women and people who work outdoors are at higher risk of health effects from smoke.
On Friday morning, the Society for the Protection of Forests from Fires (SOPFEU) announced on its website that its firefighters are fighting 80 forest fires in intensive care zones.
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