File:Burn Scars in Eastern Canada (MODIS).jpg

English: June 29, 2023 June 2, 2023

After an exceptionally dry and warm May, a storm front brought intense lightning to the Canadian province of Quebec on June 1, 2023. According to a report by the Quebec provincial government, 3,024 lightning strikes struck in and near the province on June 1. 139 fires broke out that single day, with 95% attributed to lighting.

With fire conditions high to extreme, some of these fires spread wildly to become true “fire giants”. With continued extreme fire weather, 144 additional blazes broke out across Quebec during June. The government reported that in June alone there were 1,459,048 ha of forest burned in the intensive protected area and 852,523 ha in the northern area. That’s a total of more than 2.3 million hectares (8,900 square miles)—larger than area encompassed by the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Thankfully, rain and cooler temperatures have helped reduce fire weather, aided firefighting efforts, and reduced the intensity of several forest fires. As of July 3, several communities will lift evacuation notices so citizens can return home. Some (but not all) previously closed roads and access to some forests will also reopen. This doesn’t mean the fires are quenched, however. The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) continues to battle 65 active fires, of which 3 are out of control, and 25 of which are high-priority fires as of July 2.

On June 29, prior to the recent rainy weather, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a false-color image of burn scars from the recent fires in Quebec province. In this type of image, vegetation appears bright green, water is dark blue or black, smoke can look blue or gray, and clouds are usually white but high, cold cloud can be tinted light electric blue. Burn scars, which are charred land that remains after fire passes, can range from brick red to black. Small orange-red spots mark actively burning fire.

On June 29 the province was covered by many burn scars. Some, especially in the north, were truly massive. Smoke billowed from the western edge of the largest scar and a long line of active fire was visible. While burn scars were abundant further south, there were very few signs of active fire.

Much of the province, especially in the north, is speckled with lakes, streams and bogs. Because each of these appear dark, it can be a bit difficult to sort out some burn scar from fire. However, Aqua MODIS also acquired a false-color image of the same area on June 2, and this image can be viewed by clicking the date under the image. The difference between June 2 and June 29 is readily apparent. On June 2 only a very few of the newly-ignited fires have yet grown hot enough to be marked with an orange hot spot or to show smoke.