Quebec’s fire protection agency SOPFEU has issued a full fire ban for the Outaouais as the fire danger index for the region is expected to be extreme – the highest risk level possible – into the weekend. 

This ban, in effect since Oct. 1, extends to all types of outdoor fires, including campfires and fires in closed or screened in pits, fireworks, or equipment that produces sparks or embers. 

“Summer-like temperatures and the lack of rainfall in recent days are contributing to the drying of the forest. This situation is expected to persist for some time,” SOPFEU’s website explains. “Although autumn has officially begun, the wildfire risk remains significant.”

MRC Pontiac public security manager Julien Gagnon said the MRC also put a full ban in place for all municipalities after a fire was reported on Sept. 30 near 810 chemin de la Chute in Mansfield-et-Pontefract that the local fire service couldn’t access.

When they called SOPFEU for assistance, the agency wasn’t able to immediately respond as it already had several teams out fighting fires elsewhere. Mansfield fire chief Pat Bertrand said there were no buildings in the vicinity, and SOPFEU extinguished the fire at around 10 a.m. Oct. 1.

“It was very important that we put a fire ban on, because if anything sparks up now, everything’s so dry it could be a disaster,” said Gagnon, noting the Pontiac region also saw two other small brush fires on Oct. 1, one on L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet and one in Clarendon. 

According to SOPFEU’s website, as of Oct. 2 at 11 a.m., there is still a small wildfire burning in the Pontiac region just west of Lac Cayamant.

THE EQUITY did not hear back from SOPFEU before publication, this story will be updated once a response is received.