MONTREAL — Much of Quebec, including all of its largest cities, was under a smog warning Saturday as forest fires continued to burn in the province's northwest.
Environment Canada said smog could be expected in the northwestern Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, as well as in a large area stretching from Gatineau, Que., near Ottawa, to the province's eastern border with the state of Maine.
That area includes Montreal, which has experienced several smog days this week, and Quebec City.
"High concentrations of fine particulate matter from the forest fires are resulting in poor air quality," the federal department said in the alert.
Canada Day fireworks were cancelled in Montreal -- a decision announced Thursday amid an earlier smog warning -- and several suburbs on Montreal Island said they were cancelling Canada Day activities due to the poor air quality.
Environment Canada also issued an air quality alert for other areas further north, including parts of the province's far north.
In the Montreal area, where a haze was visible in the air, smog is expected to continue until Sunday, Environment Canada said. It is expected to last longer in the areas of northwestern Quebec where fires are still burning.
Quebec's wildfire prevention agency said Saturday that there are 96 fires currently burning in the province, including one new fire reported on Friday.
However, the agency, SOPFEU, said only three fires are considered out of control.
Over the past few days, rain has lowered the risk of fires spreading, SOPFEU said in a daily update, and humidity levels are relatively high across much of the province, except for a northwestern region bordering James Bay.
There, SOPFEU said, the fire danger level remained "extreme," the highest level.
Residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, the last city in Quebec that had ordered all of its residents to evacuate, were allowed to return home today.
The only evacuation order that remained in place in the province on Saturday was for a rural area with 60 cottages within the city limits of Senneterre, Que., but located around 30 kilometres north of the city centre, according to the Public Security Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023.
Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press
