Fire fronts are spreading rapidly in eastern Canada, where there are more than 100 active outbreaks in Quebec alone, forcing authorities to ask for the evacuation of about 11,000 residents on Friday as a precaution.

After the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan faced the fiery nightmare at the beginning of May, it was the turn of the eastern part of Canada, especially Nova Scotia and Quebec.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 27 million acres have burned in Canada, eight times the area compared to the 30-year average, according to official figures. There are currently 214 active outbreaks, including 93 fires raging out of control across Canada.

New forest fires in Quebec

Since Thursday, several new fire outbreaks have broken out in Quebec, especially in areas near the Saint-Lorraine River. On Friday afternoon, authorities requested the assistance of the military to transport emergency equipment, food and fuel. “Things are changing fast in Quebec,” explained MP Stéphane Lauzon.

“About 10,000 people were evacuated as a precaution on the Cet-Île side and another 1,000 on the Chape side,” said Francois Bonnardel, the Quebec regional government’s minister of public security.

Hundreds of firefighters from the United States, Mexico, South Africa and Portugal were called in to help put out the fires.

Canada, which due to its geographical location is much more quickly affected by global warming compared to the rest of the world, has been experiencing extreme weather events in recent years, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to climate change.