CANADA VIBES NEWSROOM · ÉDITION DU SOIR | EVENING EDITION
July 20, 2026 · 9:30 PM ET
SOPFEU is tracking more than 160 active wildfires, mostly in Quebec’s northern zone. Firefighters from the U.S. and France arrived Monday to reinforce provincial crews.
Quebec’s forest fire protection agency, SOPFEU, is tracking more than 160 active wildfires across the province, the vast majority concentrated in the northern zone above the 50th parallel. The number of fires burning there is more than five times the ten-year average for this time of year.
Forest firefighters are deployed in Nord-du-Québec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Côte-Nord, three regions hit especially hard. Quebec crews are being reinforced by firefighters from New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.
On Monday, 18 American forest firefighters and 43 French forestry personnel arrived to support crews already on the ground, SOPFEU said.
Smoke from roughly 200 active wildfires in Ontario continues drifting into Quebec, degrading air quality in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the Outaouais and southwestern Nord-du-Québec. La Presse reported Sunday that while the fires persist, smoke had begun clearing from parts of southern Quebec.
The international deployment underscores the scale of the 2026 wildfire season, which is straining multiple Canadian provinces at once.
What to watch
Air quality readings in western Quebec, the progression of northern fires, and any evacuation orders in remote communities.
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