On Thursday morning, many Septilians woke up to the smell of smoke and some even had trouble breathing. Poor air quality from wildfire smoke can cause health problems for those most at risk. The Direction de la santé publique and Environment Canada recommend that those most at risk reduce smoking exposure and limit themselves to essential activities.

The plume of smoke from the wildfire north of Lac Daigle contains irritating substances that could aggravate or cause symptoms in more vulnerable people.

Environment Canada has issued a special air quality bulletin because smoke from fires north of Sept-Îles is causing poor air quality.

“People with lung conditions (such as asthma) or heart disease, the elderly, children, pregnant women and people who work outdoors are at a higher risk of smoke affecting their health,” it said.

Environment Canada recommends interrupting or reducing your activity level if you are experiencing discomfort, monitoring your symptoms, and contacting your doctor if you experience severe symptoms.

Keep doors and windows closed. It is also recommended to drink plenty of water.

The Direction de la santé publique de la Côte-Nord recommends reducing the exposure of vulnerable people and limiting themselves to essential activities by staying at home, avoiding outdoor physical activity and limiting air exchange with the outside world.

CPEs

On Thursday morning, the various early childhood centers in Sept-Îles informed parents that children would stay at home or limit their outings given the poor air quality.

On the side of the Center de service scolaire du Fer, director Richard Poirier assures that he has not received any public health opinion at this time, other than that he is vigilant when people have symptoms.

Difficult to predict

Environment Canada’s Simon Legault mentions that it is difficult to predict whether or not air quality will improve throughout the day.

During the night visibility through the smoke reduced to 1.6 km around 0100 and then gradually improved.

“The wind will blow from the north for quite a while. This does not mean the cloud will hit Sept-Îles directly, but could affect certain sections of the north coast,” Mr Legault said.

“It is difficult to predict the medium-term impact. And of course how the fire will react. Will the fire be under control, could the rain expected by tomorrow improve the situation? All of this can affect air quality in the region,” he explains.