June 6, 2023 - Wildfires Scorch Quebec

Fires
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An unusually intense start to Canada’s wildfire season filled skies
with smoke from large fires burning in Western Canada in May 2023.
Then, at the beginning of June, scores of new fires raged in the
Central Canadian province of Quebec, some of which were ignited by
lightning.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s
Terra satellite a true-color image of billowing from widespread fires
in Quebec province on June 4. Shortly after the fires started, about
5,000 residents were ordered to evacuate near the city of Sept-Îles in
the province’s east. As the fires grew, evacuations were extended to an
additional 9,000 people in surrounding communities and in western
Quebec’s Val-d’Or and Normétal municipalities. As of the evening of
June 5, more than 160 wildfires were active in Quebec, most of them out
of control according to CBC-Radio Canada.

Smoke from the blazes prompted air quality warnings across Quebec and
Ontario. By June 5, Environment Canada had issued a severe special air
quality statement for most of Quebec, including Sept-Îles, urging
residents to wear respirators if they had to venture outside and to use
air filters to recirculate and clean indoor air. On June 4, the air
quality index for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) was classified as
unhealthy in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario, according to NOAA’s
Aerosol Watch. Fine particulate matter from the smoke blew down to the
U.S. Midwest, where it made the air quality unhealthy for sensitive
groups in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.

Fire season in Quebec usually starts in late May. In an average year,
only 247 hectares (a square mile) of area would be burned by June 5,
according to Quebec’s fire prevention agency (SOPFEU). But so far this
year, 160,000 hectares (600 square miles) have burned. The fire
prevention agency said the fierce start to the season has in part been
due to high temperatures and dry conditions in the province.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 6/4/2023
Resolutions: 1km (565.1 KB), 500m (2 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-06-06

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