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Quebec has sent reinforcements to help fight forest fires in Western Canada, though rain is also giving some respite to those dealing with blazes in that part of the country.
The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu said Sunday that it has sent 21 people, including 20 firefighters, to Manitoba. An information officer is also being sent to Alberta.
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“The prevailing situation in Quebec and SOPFEU’s operational capacities allow it to lend some resources to its colleagues in other provinces without hurting its capacity to intervene in Quebec,” the organization said in an news release.
A large fire continues to burn near the northern city of Flin Flon, Man., along the Saskatchewan border around 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
The out-of-control fire is approximately 37,000 hectares in size, the Manitoba government said Friday, though people who had been forced to evacuate were scheduled to be allowed to return home Sunday morning, as rain and the efforts of firefighting crews have brought the fire line near communities under control.
In Quebec, SOPFEU’s teams have fought 96 fires that have burned 105.5 hectares of forest since the beginning of the season, according to the most recent data.
Quebec is part of a national mutual aid agreement for forest fires.
With files from The Gazette
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