SOPFEU sends 40 firefighters to Manitoba

SOPFEU sends 40 firefighters to Manitoba

The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), along with the Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks, will be deploying 40 firefighters, four unit resources and other material support to Manitoba. Their departure is scheduled for today (July 29). An additional tanker (and crew) was deployed to Ontario yesterday for an indefinite period.

These loans bring the number of Quebecers deployed to fight fires in other provinces to 198, some of whom are set to return from their two week rotation this week.

SOPFEU stated in a release that due to the situation and weather forecast in Quebec, they were able to lend resources to their colleagues in other provinces without compromising their capacity to respond to fires here. Since the start of the season, there have been 448 fires in Quebec’s intensive protection zone, affecting 7,695 hectares. On average, 443 fires start each year, affecting 18,390 hectares of Quebec’s forests.