Healey administration sends firefighters to assist with Quebec wildfires
The firefighters will travel to the area of La Touque and will be assigned to battle one of the many ongoing fires.
By Irvin Rodriguez ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
The Healey administration has sent 11 wildland firefighters to Quebec.
Gov. Maura Healey and administration officials sent 11 state wildland firefighters to Quebec to help with the wildfires that have burned in Canada since the beginning of June and have affected the air quality in the northeast United States.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation received a request for assistance last week from the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission and the Northeastern Interagency Coordination Center at the White Mountain National Forest in Campton, New Hampshire.
"Over the last several years we have seen the impacts of the climate crisis here at home and around the world, in the forms of extreme weather and increasingly severe wildfires that continue to ravage our forests," said Healey.
The firefighters will travel to the area of La Touque and will be assigned to battle one of the many ongoing fires.
Parts of New England are still experiencing notable impacts to air quality as wildfires rage in Quebec.
“We feel the effects of the climate crisis every day from the extreme heat to droughts to the smoke polluting our air,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.
Fire season has lasted longer and has been more severe due to rising temperatures, drier conditions due to years long droughts, and a lack of rain and snowfall, all caused by climate change.
Local
In-depth news coverage of the Greater Boston Area.
These fires in Quebec have left part of the northeast under a cloud of smoke, most notably in New York City.
“DCR is committed to doing everything we can to protecting our natural lands for generations to come and today’s deployment of these 11 DCR firefighters to help our friends and partners in Quebec is part of that commitment,” said DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo.
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 7: A general view of hazy conditions resulting from Canadian wildfires at Yankee Stadium before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees on June 7, 2023, in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke shrouds the skyline of Brooklyn behind the Statue of Liberty as the sun rises in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 6: Heavy smoke shrouds buildings around Times Square in a view looking north from the Empire State Building as the sun sets on June 6, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
JERSEY CITY, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 06: People walk along the Brooklyn Promenade as a reddish haze enshrouds the Manhattan skyline as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
WEST NEW YORK, NJ – JUNE 7: Smoke continues to shroud the sun as it rises behind the skyline of Manhattan in New York City on June 7, 2023, as seen from West New York , New Jersey. (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, US – JUNE 06: The Downtown Manhattan skyline stands shrouded in a reddish haze as a result of Canadian wildfires on June 06, 2023 in New York City. Over 100 wildfires are burning in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and Quebec resulting in air quality health alerts for the Adirondacks, Eastern Lake Ontario, Central New York and Western New York. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
