Quebec fire crews get boost with hundreds of reinforcements arriving today
Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active start to wildfire season across Canada.
Quebec's firefighting crews are getting a boost as reinforcements start to arrive from across the country and abroad.
The province's forest fire agency said 54 firefighters from New Brunswick are arriving today, with 119 more arriving from the United States and 109 from France. Nova Scotia also sent four water bomber aircrafts.
As of Thursday, about 800 people are fighting fires on the ground in the province, while a dozen water bombers and a dozen helicopters support them from the sky, said Public Security Minister François Bonnardel. More reinforcements will come from Portugal, Mexico and Spain in the next couple days, and the armed forces will send 40 new soldiers Friday.
SEE ALSO: Fire evacuees flee northern Quebec communities to safety of Saguenay
Unlike local auxiliary firefighters, the reinforcements are already trained to fight forest fires and will be able to hit the ground as soon as they arrive, said Bonnardel.
Quebec is also looking at borrowing American equipment as the United States is also preoccupied by the smoke blowing into their territory.
As of 11 a.m. Thursday, 137 fires were active, down from Wednesday's 149, but most are still out of control. About 35 are being tamed by fire crews, said Bonnardel.
"We're not just crossing our fingers, this shows the professionalism of those on the ground," he said at a news conference Thursday. "There have been no injuries in over a week, there have been deaths and no homes have burned down in Quebec thanks to this colossal effort."
No new evacuations planned
Rain and cooler weather conditions have helped ease fires in the eastern side of the province, and Sept-Îles, a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec, ended its state of emergency. But western and northern Quebec have stayed dry with no rain forecast until Monday.
There is some concern for Normétal in Abitibi and its water treatment plant. Fires in the region are burning 500 meters away from the municipality's doorstep. Bonnardel said the situation is being closely monitored and is mostly stable because of firefighter efforts. However, temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days.
Karine Pelletier, a spokesperson for the fire prevention agency known as SOPFEU, said it is confident it can keep the fire under control.
RELATED: Uncontainable wildfires continue to ravage Canada with no end in sight
The government is also focusing efforts on Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., a northern municipality where 2,100 people were evacuated and where two separate large fires could merge.
Other fires have erupted near the northern communities of Chibougamau and Mistissini.
It is estimated that more than 638,000 hectares of land have burned so far, and 12,600 people have fled their homes, most of them in the northern areas of the province, said Bonnardel.
A full list of evacuated municipalities can be found on the Quebec government's website. No other evacuations are planned in the short-term, said Bonnardel, and it's too soon to say when people will be able to go back home.
WATCH NOW: Canadian Armed Forces joining wildfire fight in Quebec
Thumbnail courtesy of Wendy Ratt via CBC.
This article was originally published for CBC News.. with files from Jennifer Kozak.