A fire broke out in a wooded area near the municipal garage in the Charlesbourg sector in Quebec City on Monday afternoon, mobilizing around twenty firefighters and quickly ravaging nearly 120,000 square feet of brush.
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Several calls came simultaneously to 911 around 2:40 p.m. for a large column of smoke visible from everywhere in town. The fire broke out in a wooded area at the end of rue de la Pruchière, in the Charlesbourg sector.
Marc Vallières/QMI Agency
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The spread would have been rapid according to the first information available.
“The fire would be about 300 feet by 400 feet,” said Alexandre Lajoie, spokesperson for the Quebec Fire Protection Service (SPCIQ), adding that a water cannon and several jets were used.
Marc Vallières/QMI Agency
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The twenty firefighters on site are working to stop the spread of the fire, especially since the buildings of the municipal garage of the Charlesbourg borough are located nearby.
“That’s the priority right now,” says Mr. Lajoie.
Marc Vallières/QMI Agency
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The cause of the blaze, which was declared under control around 3:40 p.m., is not known at this time.
“It’s under control. There are still a few small sources of fire concealed in the ground to be managed, but everything has been well controlled”, specifies Bill Noonan, of the Fire Department.
Marc Vallières/QMI Agency
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Increased risk
This new brush fire comes after a busy weekend for firefighters across the province.
Marc Vallières/QMI Agency
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The return of the good weather of the last few days with a late spring are conducive to conflagrations of the kind reminds the fire department, calling on citizens to be vigilant.
“There is a certain period before the vegetation resumes in May when the vegetation is very dry. So when it doesn’t rain for a certain period, it brings an additional risk for people who make open fires, but also for cigarettes thrown from a car or people who do work,” says Alexandre Lajoie. .
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