Quebec Forest Fires out of control

By the latest count, there are over 50 forest fires burning in the province of Quebec, many of them out of control. 

It is such a shame to watch the forest fire footage on TV, and realize what devastation it is causing. Sure, some tree species like the jack pine actually need heat and fire on order to propagate, but this fire is crazy!So far the blazes have not threatened human life of livelihood, but what about the all wildlife?

I can recall a huge forest fire 20-some years ago in the town of Parent in North Central Quebec. Part of the town burnt and reports at the time indicated that over 200 moose carcasses were recovered following the blaze. 

These are the unknown causalities of such an out of control fire. Great stands of timber will be lost to be sure, but the number of wildlife displaced or killed from these raging infernos may never be known. 

Some reports have fires burning as close as Buckingham/Masson, but according to the information on the SOPFEU Website, these is not that large:

http://www.sopfeu.qc.ca/en/etat_de_la_situation/carte_des_incendies.php 

Residents in eastern ON and western QC were reminded of the severity of these fires this am, when they awoke to lingering smoke and black clouds moving in from the north.

Weather forecasts seem to indicate rain this week for many parts of Quebec, let’s cross our fingers! 

Outdoorsguy