MSGID: 1:317/3 647f7448   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   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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