Many images of the fire that broke out on the Dieppe summit, on the north face of Mont Saint-Hilaire, have been shared on social networks. The cause of this fire is still unknown.
The Vallée-du-Richelieu fire brigade decided on Saturday not to intervene because of the darkness despite the gusts. By 8:30 p.m., the size of the fire had already reduced, which motivated the fire brigade to wait until Sunday to fight it. However, smoke and flames were no longer visible on Mont Saint-Hilaire.
Two agents from the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) have to be on site to take stock with the municipal firefighters and to submit a report to the regional center for forest fire fighting.
A fire at night, it is dormant, that is, it generally does not progress at night because temperatures are lower […] there is less wind [et] there is more moisture,” said Stéphane Caron, SOPFEU’s Prevention and Communication Coordinator.
However, authorities need to verify that no more embers or probable outbreaks have been reported after this fire. We need to make sure there’s no longer a hot spot preventing it from rising from its ashes, Mr Caron said.
Authorities also recommend that hikers do not deviate from marked trails to avoid risks.
Less frequent fires in November
Three wildfires are currently active in Quebec, at Saint-Damase-de-L’Islet (under control), at Lac-Sainte-Marie in Outaouais (content) and at Lake Kénogami (under control). For the month of November 2022, Quebec has already experienced 11 wildfires, while the average over the past ten years is 3.5 fires per month.
1985 saw a record 25 fires in November, and 1984 saw 20 fires that month. It’s hard to predict if those numbers will be surpassed in 2022 since we’re at the beginning of the month, Caron noted.
It’s rather rare that we have wildfires at this time of year, but it’s not exceptional, he recalled.
“The weather brings us a heat wave, it dries up the fuel on the ground [et la situation] encourages a fire to break out. »
— A quote from Stéphane Caron, Coordinator for Prevention and Communication at SOPFEU
SOPFEU reported 406 forest fires for the 2022 season, while the average for the last ten years is 469. Areas burned this year are small at 281 hectares compared to the 18,830 hectares that were burned on average. Mr. Caron explained that the damp and rainy summer combined with the rapid intervention of the SOPFEU fire brigade was able to spare a large part of the forest area.
Mr. Caron warned that only one SOPFEU tanker was currently available to fight the fires. Of the 14 aircraft available to Quebec authorities, two have been loaned to California and the others receive their annual maintenance at a Quebec hangar.
When other wildfires break out, many SOPFEU teams can be called back to put them out, Mr. Caron concluded.
With information from Jean-Philippe Hughes